Life is Like Tetris
by Pretty Phenomenal
Summary: Ravyn Storm and her best friend get called up from NXT to the main roster. Nonsense and drama unfold making her see the similarities between life and the classic video game, Tetris. She must struggle with fitting the pieces of life, love and being a WWE superstar together. (Rated M for smut in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

"Thank you and congratulations again on another successful Takeover," Triple H beams with pride as he looks out at the entire NXT roster. They has just completed their highest viewed Network event yet. "Before I let everyone go I have just one more thing." He pauses as he shuffles through some paperwork at the podium. "Ravyn and JJ are being called up to the main roster," he announces. "Good luck on Smackdown ladies!"

Ravyn Storm turns to her best friend and pulls her into a tight hug as their fellow competitors clap loudly. The two girls are peppered with congratulatory words from their coworkers as the room begins to empty out. Soon enough it's just the two of them left. They stare down at the front of the room where Triple H had made the announcement a few minutes earlier.

"I can't believe this is real," JJ grins as she starts to stand up.

Ravyn runs a hand through her long black and turquoise hair with a tattooed arm, "Dude, we worked so hard for this."

"We did!" JJ confirms, "Lets not stop now!"

The two girls grab their phones and head through the door of the auditorium style room. They stop in the locker room to grab their gear bags before getting into their rental car and heading back to the hotel.

Three days later the girls arrive at their first official Smackdown Live. Ravyn leads the way into the Smackdown women's locker room. They're greeted by Becky Lynch with a huge bear hug.

"Congrats on the call up you guys,"she says with her thick Irish accent. "I knew you'd be here soon enough!"

"After you guys left us we were worried that we'd never see you again!" Ravyn squeals.

JJ adds, "And we managed to hang on to Bayley for so long too!"

The girls chit chat for a bit before Becky has to go to hair and makeup. They decide to go down to the ring and roll around for while. Stepping between the ropes they get into the ring for the first time in a big arena. After gawking at the sheer size of the building they settle down and get to work. After an hour of working out together they walk back through the curtain. A few steps into gorilla they're met by Mark Carrano.

"Ladies," he says with a smile. "Why don't you two get cleaned up and meet me in my office in a bit so we can discuss the plan for you guys on Smackdown Live."

"We'll be there in twenty minutes ," JJ assures him.

The girls scamper off towards the locker room. They're caught up in a conversation between the two of them. As they round a corner lost in thought Ravyn slams headfirst into a muscular chest. She looks up to see the clear blue eyes of AJ Styles glaring back at her.

"Sorry," she quickly stammers out.

He looks her up and down before sneering, "Watch where you're going." He stalks off leaving Ravyn with her jaw hanging in shock.

"Whoa," JJ whispers. "What did you ever do to him?"

Ravyn shakes her head in confusion, "I.. have no idea."

The girls continue to the locker room to get cleaned up before meeting with Carrano. They shower and put some makeup on, then knock on the frame of his office door. He explains to them the characters that creative has thought up for them. Ravyn will play a grungy punk rock goth heel while JJ will take on the underdog baby face character. He runs a few storylines past them before letting them know that they each have a match on tonight's show. JJ will have her debut match against Carmella while Ravyn will face off against Naomi. On their way back to the locker room they hear someone making a siren noise behind them.

"Pull over," a gruff voice demands. Ravyn spins on her heel to see Tyler Breeze and Fandango coming up behind them. Fandango slips his reflective shades down his nose and scribbles something onto his notepad. He rips two slips of paper off and hands them to the girls. "Consider this a warming," he smirks as he walks off. Tyler follows but spins around a few steps away to smile and wink at them over his lowered sunglasses. They turn a corner and the girls look at each other in stunned silence.

"Great.." Ravyn huffs. "Fashion Police."

JJ peers down at her slip of paper, "I got a ticket. Too much pink." She snorts. "As if that were even possible."

Ravyn holds up her slip, "Crazy hair."

"Well they aren't wrong," JJ smirks ruffling her best friends multicolored locks. Ravyn shoots her a playful glare and wrestles her into a headlock. The girls play fight in the hallway until they hear clapping coming from a doorway.

They look up sheepishly to find Dolph Ziggler smirking at them. "Good to see you two on the main roster," he states.

JJ blushes, "Thanks."

Ravyn nods, "It feels good to finally be here!" JJ grabs her hand and practically drags her down the hallway. "Slow down, crazy," Ravyn laughs. JJ just looks at her with flushed cheeks. "Oh, I think someone has a crush!"

"Do not!" JJ insists as she tries to hide the color rushing to her face. "Okay, maybe a little," she finally admits.

"You're adorable," Ravyn teases.

The first night on Smackdown surprisingly goes off without a hitch. The girls become fast friends with the majority of the roster. But with the two of them working against each other on TV they soon realize that their days of traveling together are limited.

"JJ," Ravyn starts sadly. "I think with me working heel they're probably going to make us stop riding together."

JJ nods, "You're probably right." The red haired girl says as she props her boot up on a chair to start lacing it. "So I guess we should find new travel buddies then."

"I guess so," Ravyn sulks. "God why does it feel like we're breaking up!? We're still going to see each other ALL the time. It just won't be the same traveling without you!"

"I feel like you just gave me a 'it's not you, it's me' speech. And bought me coffee at a diner so I wouldn't make a scene," JJ giggles.

Ravyn laughs, "That's definitely something I would do!"

"Hey JJ, you're welcome to ride with me and Becky if you want to," Nattie pipes in.

JJ smiles at the veteran woman, "That would be amazing! I don't get to see enough of you guys anyways."

"You rebounded quickly," Ravyn scoffs playfully.

JJ teases her friend, "I actually just couldn't wait to get away from you."

She sticks her younger out for emphasis. Ravyn flings her boot at her friend, which JJ ducks. It goes sailing out the locker room door and skitters to a stop at the feet of AJ Styles.

"Shit! Sorry!" Ravyn calls out apologetically. He shoots her a dirty look before continuing down the hallway. Ravyn turns to the other girls who share her confusion. "I seriously don't know why he hates me."

The weeks go by with JJ traveling with Nattie. Ravyn has yet to find a new riding partner. She travels by herself mostly but occasionally catches a ride with Breezango or Alexa Bliss. Upon arriving at the arena she takes some time to work out with JJ. On their way back through the curtain they check the nights schedule. JJ has the night off and Ravyn has a match with Nikki Bella. Ravyn goes back to get changed for her match leaving JJ to scrutinize the card.

Once she's fully dressed in her gear Ravyn goes over to hair and makeup where she lets the stylist perfect a goth punk look to match her leather jacket and plaid tights. As she stands up from the chair to admire their handiwork she catches a glimpse of AJ's scowling reflection in the mirror. She shakes her head and heads to gorilla to wait for her music.

Nikki goes out first and the crowd explodes with cheers. Ravyn lets her music pulse through the arena for a few moments before emerging through the curtain. The crowd welcomes her with a chorus of boos. She revels in their hatred, sauntering down the ramp flipping her hair over her shoulder. She really takes her time getting into the ring, making the fans wait for her, riling them up even further. Finally she steps between the ropes. She slips her leather jacket off of her shoulder and sets it down under the turnbuckle. Her and Nikki lock up in the center of the ring as soon as the bell chimes. Ravyn takes every opportunity to cheat when the referee isn't looking, causing the fans to boo her even louder. Coming up on the six minute mark of their match Nikki whips Ravyn into the corner. She kicks Ravyn in the gut and gives her a quick snap suplex. There's a pop from Ravyn's shoulder loud enough for the referee to hear. Nikki goes for the pin as soon as she realizes what happened. She celebrates her victory as Ravyn is helped to the back by the ringside medical staff.


	2. Chapter 2

Ravyn sits in the medic room at the arena surrounded by the WWE doctor and his staff. He keeps touching different parts of her arm and neck. She winces every once in a while and he logs her reaction. JJ and Tyler Breeze pop their heads into the doorway to see if they can find out what's going on.

"What happened friend?!" JJ asks worriedly.

Ravyn looks at her painfully, "Took that suplex and heard a pop. Something hurts. Bad."

"We're going to send you to the hospital first thing tomorrow. I'll set you up with a specialist to get some images of your neck and shoulder. Until then I can give you something for the pain, but not much else until we know what we're dealing with," the head doctor explains. "And you'll need to take it easy. No driving tonight. We'll work on finding you a ride back to the hotel."

"I can take her back," Tyler offers. "We rode in together anyways."

The doctor nods, "Perfect. I'll get all the paperwork together for tomorrow. And I'll talk to you after I see your images."

"Thanks," Ravyn sighs standing up gingerly. "Let me just get my bag and we can go. I'm exhausted."

"Uh, no," JJ sasses her. "Tyler will get your bag. And I will help you to the car. Becky is on last so I'll be here for a while longer."

Ravyn shrugs her good shoulder and follows JJ out to the underground parking garage. Tyler emerges from the building a few minutes later with both of their bags. He loads the trunk of the car and holds the passenger door open while Ravyn gets in. They say goodbye to JJ before he gets into the drivers seat. He watches Ravyn struggle with her seatbelt before reaching over and clicking it shut for her. She shoots him a pathetic thank you as he starts to drive off. They enjoy the quiet on the short drive back to the hotel. When they get to the hotel Ravyn leads Tyler up to her room.

"Thanks for doing all this," she says. "You didn't have to."

"Eh, I know," he confesses. "But what are friends for?" He sets her bag down next to the dresser and starts back towards the door. He looks over his shoulder with the cocky Prince Pretty smirk and a wink. "Besides, how else would I get you all alone in your room."

"Oh my god, you're awful," she laughs. "Get out."

Tyler grins at her as he walks to the door. She assures him that if she needs anything she will call. As she hears the click of her hotel room door closing the desire to take a hot shower overcomes her. Her sore muscles are screaming for the steamy water. She pulls some shorts and a tank top out of her bag and starts the water. As she starts to get undressed she realizes that she has a bit of a dilemma. She can't unhook her bra with just the one hand. Frustrated, she turns the water off. After fumbling with it and failing a few times she shoots JJ a text to see if she's back from the arena yet. Unfortunately, her friend responds that she's still there. Ravyn weighs her options and finally texts Tyler, asking him to return to her room. She wraps herself up in a towel and waits for the knock at her door. She opens the door sheepishly and lets him inside.

"Everything ok?" He asks with a hint of worry in his voice.

"More embarrassing than life threatening actually," she explains sadly. "I can't get my bra off and I really want to shower."

An amused look creeps across Tyler's face, "So what you're saying is you called me here because you want me to undress you."

She glares daggers at him. "Yes Tyler, please rip my clothes off," the sarcasm drips off of her tongue.

"Damn girl," he snickers. "All you had to do was ask."

She rolls her eyes at him. "You are so terrible," She finally laughs. "Just help me you jerk."

Tyler manages to refrain from making any more innuendos as he helps her unsnap her bra. He closes the bathroom door leaving her to try and enjoy the steaming hot shower. When she's finished getting cleaned up he helps her get dressed again with minimal sass. As he starts to get ready to leave Ravyn asks him to stay. She motions to the second bed and tells him she could just really use some company. They fall asleep shortly after starting a movie.

The next morning Ravyn awakes to her phone buzzing with a text message. It's the head WWE doctor giving her a time and place to get her shoulder looked at. As she starts to wake up she hears the shower running. She momentarily freaks out until she remembers in her groggy and half awake state that Tyler had stayed over. She drags herself from the bed and fishes through her bag for some clean pants.

"How are you feeling?" He asks opening the bathroom door to let the steam out.

"Sore," she admits. "Doc just texted me all of my appointment stuff."

Tyler nods, "Do you need someone to take you? I'm off today if you need a ride."

"You sure you don't mind?" Ravyn double checks.

"Yeah, it's no problem," he smiles as he towels his hair. "Besides JJ is booked on tonight's show. So she has to be at the arena early," he informs her. "And you aren't allowed to drive yourself."

She finally concedes when she realizes that he's completely right. He takes a few minutes to blow dry his hair while she packs her suitcase. He watches her in the mirror as she rips a brush through her hair and smudges some black liner around her eyes. When she's satisfied with her appearance she turns to face Tyler.

"Ready?" He smirks.

"Yes dear," she sasses him as she steps into the hallway through the door he holds open.

He smiles and nods a greeting to AJ Styles, who is walking down the hallway to his room. The smile that adorns AJ's face quickly turns to a look of disgust as he realizes the two of them are coming from the same room. He shakes his head and quickly disappears through his doorway. Tyler looks at Ravyn quizzically, when he realizes that she hadn't seen AJ's reaction he just shrugs to himself.

Six days later Ravyn sits with Tyler, JJ and Fandango at a late night restaurant after Smackdown Live. A bulky immobilizing brace holds her left shoulder in one place as she sips from her glass of water.

"I can't believe you're going to be out for six months," JJ sighs. "We only just got here."

"Well technically she just can't wrestle for six months," Fandango points out.

"Dango has a point," Tyler agrees. "If we can find a way to keep you relevant without taking bumps then you can keep traveling with us."

Ravyn pats the brace gently, "I mean, I only had surgery 3 days ago. But, if we can figure something out I can probably be back on TV by Survivor Series next month.

"Oh, we'll come up with something," JJ promises her best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't believe you guys pulled this off," Ravyn laughs.

She's standing in front of the head seamstress who's making some adjustments to her new costume. Her long hair is tied up into a low bun with a black police cap on her head. A low cut crop top Police uniform shirt with a short black pleated skirt finish off the outfit. Dango pulls his sunglasses off and slips them onto her face. Dolph Ziggler walks up from around the corner and puts his arm around JJ's shoulders.

"Hey guys check out my new shirt!" He kisses her forehead then looks at the others. "Whoa, that came out really good."

Ravyn slides the glasses down her nose and peers over the mirrored lenses, smirking at Dolph. "New shirt huh?" She pauses. "Book him Dango!"

"Aww babe," JJ coos. "I love pink! Your new shirt is awesome!"

"Thanks," he tilts JJ's chin up to kiss her. Then he turns back to Ravyn, "So are you making your re-debut tonight?"

"Yeah, me and these goons are going to enforce some serious fashion laws," she tells him.

"And you're nearing the top of that list Ziggler," Tyler jokes cockily.

Dolph holds up his hands defensively and begins to back away slowly. JJ laughs and follows him down the hallway. Ravyn pulls her thick gel knee pads up to cover her kneecaps then begins lacing her Dr. Marten boots. She admires the new gear in the full length mirror and thanks the seamstress again for all of her hard work. Ravyn pins a silver badge to the hip of her skirt, officially making the uniform complete. She walks back to the locker room with Tyler and Dango. The boys change into their gear so they can be ready for the Main Event taping.

Dango looks at his partners and smiles. "I think you're missing something," his eye light up as an idea hits him. "Breeze," he slaps Tyler excitedly. "Give her some of your leg gimmicks!"

Tyler rummages through his gear bag and pulls out another pair of his fluffy leg tassels. He assists her with putting the black and grey strips of faux fur just below her kneepads covering all but the toes of her boots. He takes a step back and stands with Dango to admire the now truly completed outfit.

"You look amazing," Tyler tells her.

She blushes and says a quick thank you. Moments later the trio is heading toward gorilla for their tag team match against American Alpha. Breezango's music hits and Tyler walks out first with his selfie stick. Dango follows behind him closely. They stop at the top of the ramp and look back towards the curtain. Ravyn steps out and saunters her way between Dango and Tyler. The guys step to the side to give her center stage. Tyler leans in behind her wrapping one hand around her waist and holding the selfie stick in front of them. As their faces appear on the Titantron the crowd begins to boo wildly. He slips the handle of the fluffy selfie stick into her hand. As he moves away from he he makes a point to brush his hand across her hip. On their way down the ramp Tyler and Dango hand out tickets to unsuspecting, poorly dressed, fans. Ravyn cheers on the boys from ringside while they battle with American Alpha. Chad Gable manages to squeak out a victory over Dango, sending Ravyn and the boys back pedaling up the ramp.

"How's the shoulder?" Dango asks as they step background the curtain into gorilla.

"Feels ok," Ravyn smiles. "I'll just make sure to keep it in the brace when I'm not on camera."

"Good," Tyler grins. "Let's go write some tickets."

Dango leads them through the labyrinthine backstage hallways, rooms and various cases of equipment. They spy Dolph coming towards them down an intersecting hall. Dango motions for Tyler to record on his phone. He taps the button and the three of them converge on the unsuspecting wrestler.

"Hey, where'd you get that shirt?" Dango asks him.

"I told you it's a brand new shirt," Dolph looks perplexed.

Tyler hands him a ticket with 'uggo' written on it. "This is for you," Tyler tells him. "That's yours too," he hands him another, and another. Tyler smirks as he keeps handing Dolph tickets.

"You get all of them!" Ravyn adds.

"Thanks guys," Dolph shakes his head. He tries not to give them any reaction even though they can see his shoulders shaking as he tries to hold back laughter.

The three of them cackle manically and scamper down the hallway. They take a few minutes to stop in catering and write up another pile of tickets. When they feel that they that they have a sufficient amount they go back to stalking the hallways for victims. As they roam down a corridor filled with production equipment Dango sets his sights on their next fashion offender. AJ styles is wandering around backstage in gym pants and a sweaty t-shirt. Dango locks in like a hungry shark smelling blood in the water.

As they near him Dango shouts, "Take that!" Whilst shoving a ticket high onto his chest.

"This one too!" Ravyn adds a second ticket to the one already behind held down by Dango.

"And these too!" Tyler says handing AJ even more ridiculous tickets. The paper crinkles and flutters around AJ's neck.

"You guys are gonna give me a paper cut," AJ whines in his thick southern accent.

The three of them make a hasty exit, leaving AJ standing amidst a pile of handwritten tickets. He shakes his head in annoyance before finally walking away. Ravyn, Tyler and Dango make up another stack of tickets and continue to distribute them to other superstars throughout the night.

As the Smackdown Live broadcast comes to a close the buzz in the locker room grows. The entire roster has the following day off. While some stars are planning to take the rare time off to go home or visit their families the rest are looking forwards to a night of partying.

After dropping their gear off in their hotel rooms Breezango and Ravyn make their way to one of the many party spots on the Vegas strip. They meet up with JJ and Dolph to find out that most of their friends had decided to stay in Vegas and party. Zack Ryder and Mojo order everyone drinks to get the party started. Everyone is laughing and having a great time. There's lots of drinking, dancing and the occasional game of pool between rounds. JJ and Dolph are out on the floor dancing when Zack drags Ravyn out to them in an attempt to get her to dance with him. She does her best to try and avoid dancing, knowing that she sticks out in the crowd with her punk rock goth style. She has a cute black halter top that dips low in the front with some chains as accents. Her platform boots and short black skirt leave the pale flesh of her legs exposed, making her stand out against the well tanned public in Vegas. She and Zack dance for a few songs before Tyler pushes him out of the way playfully.

"Move it Uggo," Tyler demands.

They dance closer to JJ and Dolph. "Girl," JJ giggles. "You look so uncomfortable out here."

"That obvious huh?" Ravyn smirks.

"Totally," Dolph assures her. "And you look like you belong at the goth club down the road. I never noticed how pale you are before seeing you in a crowd of normal humans."

"Very funny Ziggles," Ravyn sticks her tongue out. She quickly changes the subject. "Are you guys excited about Survivor Series this weekend?"

"Definitely!" JJ confirms. "Our first big pay per view with Smackdown!"

Tyler pipes up, "And we'll get to see the RAW guys too!"

"Austin might even let you back on Up Up Down Down," Dolph teases. "As long as you aren't still considering Left Right Left Right that is."

"I'm not," Tyler huffs.

Dango glides over to them as he pulls JJ away from Dolph to dance with him. His dance skills are showcased as the group watches them twirl around the floor. He eventually deposits her back into the arms of her boyfriend and reaches for Ravyn's hand. A look of terror crosses Ravyn's face.

"Oh, no no. You know I'm a terrible dancer," she back pedals.

"That's why you must come learn from the greatest dancer in the world," he insists.

Reluctantly she goes with him. He steps behind her as the song changes. He puts his hands on her hips to help her through the movements. A ragged and nervous breath escapes her lips as she leans back into him, letting him take complete control of their bodies. He guides her to the rhythm of the music, twisting their bodies around each other like putty. When the music subsides their friends whoop and cheer at their sexually charged performance. Ravyn thanks Dango before retreating to the safety of their table. She slides in next to Tyler and picks at some of the appetizers spread across the tabletop. They party goes on until the club closes at two in the morning.

Ravyn wakes up to her phone buzzing on the hotel nightstand. She slaps at it in an attempt to make it stop. Begrudgingly she opens an eye and glares at the clock. 9:23 am. She tries to wrack her brain to decide who would be calling her this early on a rare day off. She finally accepts that the phone isn't going to stop making noise until she does something and reaches over to grab it. She's greeted by a screen telling her that she's missed 14 calls, 6 voicemails and 74 text messages.


	4. Chapter 4

Ravyn's hand trembles as she looks at the log of missed calls and texts. Fearing the worst she opens the message from JJ first. Expecting to read about the death of someone close to them in the business, she's both relieved and shocked to see that that isn't the case. Texts from JJ read 'Dude answer your phone!' And 'Call me ASAP!' She sees messages from Tyler and Carrano too. Her phone rings again, it's JJ.

"Dude, why is my phone blowing up," Ravyn answers groggily.

"Oh, thank god, you answered!" JJ says exasperated.

"Sorry friend," Ravyn yawns. "I was sleeping."

"Well while you were busy in Slumberland, social media was busy stirring up a shit storm," JJ tells her.

"What?" Ravyn snorts. "Rollins have a new angry ex?"

"No..." JJ pauses. "It's about you."

The color drains from her face as a lump of nerves rises in her throat. "How bad?" Ravyn asks her best friend.

"Considering I was there all night with you, I think it LOOKS much worse than it actually is," JJ says carefully.

Swallowing hard Ravyn asks, "What happened?"

"There must have been a fan taking pictures in the club last night," JJ starts. "There are two pictures. One of you dancing with Dango and another of you and Tyler. Now since I was there, I know nothing happened. But the angles of the shots make them look terrible... Like a PR nightmare."

"J," Ravyn stammers. "Can you send them to me?"

JJ is silent for a moment. "Yeah I can," she sighs. "But only if you promise to stay off of Twitter... And probably Instagram too. Yeah, actually, all of social media."

"Ok," Ravyn whispers nervously. "Send them over and I'll give you a call later. After I handle Carrano."

"Good luck," JJ says. "You'll get them shortly. And please, stay off the internet."

Ravyn hangs up the phone and waits impatiently for the images to appear. She fiddles with the phone. Turning it over and over again in her hand. When it finally does vibrate she nearly drops it. After fumbling to keep control of it for a few seconds she manages to get it under control and find the nerve to unlock it.

The first photo is of her and Dango on the dance floor. His left hand on her hip as he stands behind her with his face next to hers. The photo was taken at the precise moment where his right hand appears to be groping her chest. To someone that wasn't at the club the image could definitely be construed as more than just dancing. She swipes to the right and sees the second picture. It's a shot of their table from across the dance floor. At first Ravyn doesn't see what the issue is. She sees Tyler leaned against the booth back, tilting his head back with on arm behind his head. Probably stifling a yawn.

She stares harder at the photo, trying to figure it out. When she sees it she audibly gasps and nearly drops the phone. She remembers the moment vividly. She had dropped her room key and leaned down to pick it back up with her one good arm. Try as she might the stupid plastic card kept slipping from her fingers. It took her an obscene amount of time to finally pick up the keycard. The image staring back at her from the glowing phone screen shows her head buried in Tyler's lap. Or at least that's what the angle makes it look like. She groans and flops back onto the bed pulling the comforter over her head and just wishing that she could start the last twelve hours over.

Her phone lights up with another text message. It's from Tyler. Just a simple 'Hey, are you ok?' from him. She shoots him back a quick response and begins systematically working her way through the backlog of calls and messages. Most of them are from JJ and Tyler. She comes across messages from Dango, William Regal, Triple H and Mark Carrano too. She opts to just bite the bullet and call Carrano directly.

"I'll keep this short, I'm boarding a plane," Carrano answers his phone. "I need you to be at the house show tomorrow by 11am. We need to have a meeting with Vince."

"Great," Ravyn sighs.

"Don't worry too much," he tells her. "You're not in any trouble. Just stay off of the Internet ok? Don't feed the trolls."

Her stomach sinks at the second mention of avoiding social media, "Thanks Mark, see you tomorrow." There's a knock at her door. "Go away," she calls out sadly.

"Not happening," she hears her best friend respond from the hallway. "Let me in!" Ravyn rolls off of the bed and drags herself to the door. She opens the door towards her and is greeted by JJ holding up a paper bag and a diet soda. "I brought you breakfast," she smiles.

"A shining beacon of hope in an otherwise dismal and cloudy morning," Ravyn smirks snatching the bag from her hand greedily. "Ooo, hashbrowns!" She reaches into the bag on her way back into the room. JJ follows her and sits on the corner of the bed.

"So you doing ok?" JJ asks.

Ravyn nods, "Yeah, I mean, I spoke to Carrano and he says I'm not in trouble or anything. But we still have to meet with Vince tomorrow."

"That sucks," JJ confirms. "And the media is not going to go easy on you guys."

"Do you really think the media cares about this?" Ravyn asks naively. "I mean, it's not like I'm the champ or anything."

"Well..." JJ pauses.

Ravyn's face falls, "What's that look for. I don't like that look at all."

JJ fidgets anxiously with her long red hair, "Social media has sort of already started to blow up over this."

"Blow up how?" Ravyn asks cautiously.

"Let's just say that the pictures went viral," JJ explains. "Way worse than Seth's nudes. Probably because the majority of wrestling fans are men."

Ravyn sighs, "It's not even like I was naked or anything!"

"Yeah, but those pictures have sparked every perverts twisted fantasies about you and your sex life," her friend explains. "They're all really sure that you're into hooking up in public. And the fact that you aren't in a public relationship has them convinced that you're easy too."

"Awesome," Ravyn says dryly. "So now because I don't have a boyfriend, I'm a huge slut."

"That's one of the nicer things you're being called," JJ half jokes.

"Why couldn't I have got lucky like you. You and Dolph are so damn cute," Ravyn whines.

"Hey, that's what happens when your best friend disappears for a month and you need a hotel breakfast buddy!" JJ laughs.

"So, should I like, push you down the stairs or something so I can find a boyfriend?" Ravyn asks sarcastically.

JJ snickers, "Sometimes I think you're crazy."

"Only sometimes?" Ravyn snorts.

"The right guy will come along," JJ assures her.

"Until then I get to deal with a media shit storm making me out to be the biggest slut on the planet," Ravyn groans. "This is going to be terrible."

JJ confirms, "Well it's definitely not going to be easy. But you aren't in trouble and you didn't actually do anything wrong. So you'll make it through."

"Whatever it takes," Ravyn whispers. "I know I can make it through."

"You did not just use the Degrassi theme song," JJ scolds.

Ravyn just giggles. The girls sit together for a while longer while Ravyn ignores her phone blowing up with texts and Twitter notifications. JJ leaves by noon to go to the gym with Dolph. Against her better judgement Ravyn logs on to Twitter to see just how bad this whole thing has become.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews! Glad you guys are enjoying so far.**

It's worse than she expected. The pictures are everywhere. Reddit, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, the wrestling dirt sheets and even some main stream celebrity gossip pages. The pictures being out doesn't bother her nearly as much as some of the comments left on them. She was prepared to be called a slut. But seeing men vividly describe what they would do to her is an absolute shock. The vulgar musings make her sick to her stomach. She skims through a few more before tossing her phone onto the bed in disgust. She spends the rest of the day hiding out in her hotel room avoiding any sort of social interaction.

Early the next morning she wakes to catch her flight to Phoenix. Somehow she manages to miss the paparazzi combing the Vegas strip hotel and airport. But the first thing she sees when stepping into baggage claim in Arizona is a flock of cameras. She tries to think of any reason that they might be swarming the airport, but can't come up with any big events in town. Her stomach drops when she realizes that they're there for her. She pulls her hood up to cover her hair and hides behind her dark sunglasses. She keeps far away from the bag collecting conveyer belt until she sees her own bag pop out from the rubber curtain. As if by some small miracle she manages to swoop in and grab her luggage before being noticed. Quickly, with ninja like stealth, she hustles her way to the car rental window.

The agent is efficient and she's in her rental car just a few minutes later. Glancing at her watch, she doesn't even bother going to the hotel, knowing she has to meet with Carrano in an hour. She chooses to just go to the arena instead. As she steps out of the car into the underground parking garage she hears someone say her name. She turns to find a guy with a gamers just snapping pictures of her. She groans and hastily grabs her bag from the trunk.

"Hey, can you answer some questions?" He more demands than asks. He moves in closer to her impeding her walk towards the entrance of the building. As she's about to politely decline an interview he just begins asking anyways. "How long have you been dating Tyler Breeze?"

She's caught off guard, "We're no.. What?!"

"So, he's just a casual hookup?" He moves with her as she walks, keeping himself between her and the building. Taking pictures the whole time. "Are you hooking up with any other superstars? Or just Breezango?" She's taken aback by his onslaught of personal questions. As they get closer to the building he starts slowing down in front of her, making it very difficult for her to get inside. "Is your relationship with Tyler Breeze how you got to the main roster?"

Rage fills Ravyn's eyes as she shoves the guy out of her way with her bad shoulder. "Oh, fuck off!" She spits.

She dives into the elevator to take her up to the lobby of the arena. Still fuming when the elevator arrives in the lobby she's relieved to only see a security guard and not a huge crowd. She can hear the ring crew hard at work setting up for that nights show in the arena. She checks in and goes to drop her bag off in the locker room. One of the benefits of being so early is being the only one there. Carefully, she places her things along a wall and sits down on a wooden bench. She lays back and sighs, awaiting her meeting with Carrano and Vince.

A few minutes later Tyler and Dango drag their feet through the doorway. They exchange nervous greetings then sit in silence as they await their meeting. They walk down the hallway together, hoping that they won't actually be in trouble. The room is empty when they arrive so they take a seat in the cold blue steel chairs across from the temporary desk. They exchange anxious looks until Carrano appears in the doorway.

"Did you beat up a photographer?" He almost yells in disbelief.

The two guys look at each other and blurt out, "No!" at the same time.

Sheepishly Ravyn answers, "I may have pushed a guy who was harassing me... And also happened to be taking pictures."

Carrano face palms, "The video is already at almost one hundred thousand views." Ravyn grimaces. "You're not making it easy to make this go away."

"Sorry," she barely squeaks.

"Vince will be here in a few minutes," he tells the three of them. "Just sit tight and we'll see what we can do about this." Carrano walks back into the hallway.

"I feel like we're in the principal's office," Dango muses.

"Well if anyone is getting expelled or suspended," Ravyn's pauses. "It'll be me. I think you guys are safe."

Vince steps into the room and the three go silent. He shakes all three of their hands and sits down behind Carrano's desk. "So it seems we have ourselves a bit of a situation, doesn't it?" He chuckles. They nod silently. "Well, as far as I'm concerned any publicity is good publicity. Let's take the opportunity and run with the momentum. Turn the sexy stuff up to a 10. I want you guys traveling together. They three of you should be seen together everywhere. Do everything together. Gym, travel, fly, eat, stay together if you have to. If we can turn this into an on air angle I think the bad press could turn into ratings. Besides were starting to pull away from the PG era." Vince pauses to look at each of them, his gaze landing on Ravyn. "As long as you're ok with it of course."

Ravyn nods, "No problem."

"And I'll take care of the photographer," Vince offers. "Just please don't assault anyone else. Just smile and use it to improve the show."

The five of them exchange a few ideas before ending the meeting. Breezango and Ravyn go back to the locker room to prepare for the evenings show. The crowd is on fire all night and the show goes off without any real issues. Breezango turns up the heat on their segments by teasing as much kissing and touching as they think that they can get away with. Best of all the crowd seems to buy it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews! I hope you guys are still reading. This chapter was the scene I had in my head from the birth of this story. Hopefully you guys like it!**

Vince's plan works. Having Breezango and Ravyn go everywhere together gets them so much more heat. In an effort to be seen they stop in as many small locations as they can on the long drive to Friday's house show. They take ridiculous pictures together in every location and immediately upload them to Twitter and Instagram. Even though the situation that got them there was negative, Ravyn has to admit, she's enjoying herself with this story line. The only negative for her now is the way that people perceive her. The cat calls and snide comments never seem to stop.

They finish the house show loop and check into their hotel rooms for NXT Takeover, excited to get to watch the show. They even get dressed up in their gear to make an appearance backstage. Once their police hats are in place the shenanigans begin. They start by making a stack of tickets. As they're roaming the halls they come across an unsupervised golf cart. Dango leans in and looks around the front seat.

"Guys," a mischievous smile creeps across his face. "The keys are in it."

"Shotgun!" Ravyn calls as she slides into the passenger seat.

Tyler happily lounges across the back bench seat and admires himself with his phone camera. "Let's roll," he grins.

They patrol the halls in their new police cruiser. Even taking it to their photoshoot. The head photographer snaps picture after picture of them intertwined together in their matching gear. They continue to zip around the backstage area in the golf cart. Dango making siren noises as they zoom up behind people and issue them warnings. As they speed around a corner they almost collide with AJ Styles, who's there to watch the show.

"You guys are gonna freakin hurt somebody!" He yells at them on their way by.

The battery in the golf cart finally dies out as the show begins. They watch from the locker room with the NXT roster and some of the main roster guys. Ravyn watches Hunter beam with pride as the show goes off smoothly.

When the last bell tolls after the main event they're more than ready to get back to the hotel. Dango drives while Tyler browses his phone in the passenger seat.

"Are you guys hungry?" Ravyn asks.

"I could eat," Dango nods.

Tyler perks up at the mention of food, "Out hotel has a good looking restaurant, with a bar."

The decision is made. When they arrive at the hotel they drop their gear bags off in their rooms before meeting back up in the lobby. They can hear Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson being loud at the bar. Instead of getting a table by themselves Dango leads them over to where Luke and Karl are.

"Hey good brothers," Dango greets them.

"Oh hey good brother," Luke smiles. "Pull up some stools!"

"Well well," Karl smirks. "If it isn't the controversial Hoots!"

Tyler laughs, "Let's hope controversy makes money."

"Oh hell yeah," Luke says in his Stone Cold voice.

Karl nods, "Too sweet me on that!"

The drinks flow freely while the five of them laugh and joke. Gallows is the king of imitating voices. He and Karl both have pretty great redneck and Stone Cold voices, but Luke has a slew of other ridiculous characters. Including ring announcers Howard Finkle and David Penzer.

"Did you really assault a photographer?" Luke asks in disbelief.

Ravyn sips on her second cocktail, "He started it."

"You can't do that, Hoot!" Karl exclaims. "You're gonna get fired!"

"In her defense, he was being pretty shitty to her," Dango explains. "I probably would have punched him."

"He was being fucking rude," she confirms. "How much do I put up with before I stand up for myself?"

"Still," Karl sighs. "You just can't do stuff like that. You'll get yourself fired!"

"She wasn't beating up photographers," Gallows starts in with one of his voices. "She was helping that young man because she saw that his shoe was untied. He needed some help getting down there. She's one of the boys."

Karl starts to giggle and comes back with a voice of his own, "I seen her out back doing cocaine in the alley!"

"No, she wouldn't do that," Gallows retorts. "She was out back picking flowers to bring to Stephanie because her office needs sprucing up. She's one of the boys."

The whole group chuckles as Karl continues, "I saw her back in the kitchen making out with a boy!"

"No, she was back there making sure the extra food goes to a soup kitchen. She's always making charitable donations, she's one of the boys!" Gallows laughs finally breaking character.

They laugh at the ridiculous bit from their old Talk'n Shop podcast and Too Sweet each other. As Gallows orders everyone another round AJ Styles joins them. He sits next to Gallows, as far away from Ravyn and Breezango as he could.

"Oh look, it's a little bearded baby," Karl grins. "What brings you here Phenomenal Hoot?"

"Uncle Allan, down in the dirt with the dogs, huh? Did you miss us? You little neck breaker you!" Gallows jokes.

"I can hear you guys all the way from the elevator," AJ says dryly. "You may actually be louder here than you ever were in Japan."

"Yeah, because here I can just keep drinking B Double L's," Karl holds up a Bud Light Lime.

Gallows Stone Cold voice returns, "Oh hell yeah!"

AJ stays fairly quiet while the rest of the group continues to eat and party. Tyler and Dango eventually decide to call it a night and go back to their rooms. Ravyn is about to follow them when Gallows guilts her into staying longer. She tells him that she'll stay for another round but no longer. Snacks come and go while the four of them bullshit. AJ is growing increasingly annoyed by the antics of Gallows and Anderson. Ravyn can't help but laugh at Gallows explaining that his favorite town in Japan was "Fuck you i-i"

"If you keep popping he's never going to shut up," AJ huffs.

She's a little surprised, "But, it's funny."

He sneers, "You would laugh at this crap."

"What's that even supposed to mean?" The alcohol asks defensively for her.

"These two idiots do the same dumb shtick constantly. Sure, it's funny for about ten minutes," he admits. "But two hours later they're doing the exact same thing. The same voices constantly. It's annoying."

"Uncle Allan is just mad that he can't put his headphones in and ignore us," Karl smirks.

"Too sweet me on that, Hoot!" Gallows laughs.

Forgetting her one drink promise, Ravyn stays at the bar with The Club until last call. Gallows and Anderson decide to head to the liquor store to get beer for their hotel rooms while AJ and Ravyn head for the elevator. She drunkenly fumbles around in her purse for her room key as they wait for the elevator car. When the doors open AJ lets her on first. They both go to touch the 14th floor button at the same time. As the lift starts to ascend they wobble a bit from all of their drinking.

Awkwardly they keep to opposite corners of the elevator while Ravyn continues to search for her room key. The door opens as they reach the 14th floor. AJ lets her exit before him. She takes a few steps beyond the door and stops again to rummage through her purse. Slowly, she begins ambling towards her room with her focus buried inside her bag. AJ follows at a distance. She stops in front of her door and sighs with drunken frustration. She reaches out to try the handle, knowing its a useless effort. She turns on her heel back towards the elevator, slams into AJ's chest and stumbles hard. He reaches out to steady her before she falls.

"You ok?" He asks.

She nods, "Lost my room key. I have to go get another."

"It's two thirty in the morning," he slurs rationally. "Just stay in my room. Get a new key when you wake up."

"Are... Are you sure?" She fidgets.

"Would you rather I leave you drunk and alone in the hallway? Or you can knock on your partners doorway at 3 am. I'm sure they'd love that," he snips sarcastically. "Come on, I don't bite."


	7. Chapter 7

Silently, Ravyn weighs her options before reluctantly following AJ to his room. It's just a few doors down from her own. He slides the keycard into the door and lets himself in, holding the door open for her to follow. She steps into the room to see that's it's identical to hers. He sets his key on the TV stand along with his wallet and cell phone then reaches into the suitcase on the floor next to the wall. He hands her a pair of gym shorts and a tank top.

"Best I can do for now," he admits. "Haven't done laundry yet this week."

She takes them with a thank you and steps into the bathroom. After changing into AJ's extra clothes she takes a long look at herself in the bathroom mirror. She asks herself if this is really happening. Somehow she resists the urge to pinch herself for a reality check. Her mind reels at the absurdity of situation. What kind of luck does she have to end up in the hotel room of someone who barely even tolerates her existence? She splashes some water on her face and ventures back into the hotel room. AJ's World Championship title belt glints from on top of his gear bag in the corner of the dimly lit room. AJ places a pillow on the couch and sits down. He's about to swing his legs onto the cushions when Ravyn stops him.

"You can't sleep on the couch," she fumbles with her words. "You've got to wrestle tomorrow. And this is your room."

"Exactly. It's my room and you're the guest," his southern accent is even stronger when he's drunk. "And you've got a bad shoulder. Sleeping on the couch will set your recovery back."

They stare at each other stubbornly for what seems like an eternity. Finally Ravyn breaks the silence. "This is a king bed," she states. "There's plenty of room for both of us. We'll never even know the other is there."

It takes a moment, but AJ finally agrees and tosses his pillow back onto the bed. They each crawl under the covers as far away from each other as they can. AJ turns out the light and within a few minutes they're both asleep.

Sunlight peeks between the long black-out curtains a few hours later. Ravyn stifles a yawn and buries her face into her pillow. A moment later she freezes. She feels a hand on her hip and hears gentle snoring behind her. Slowly she begins to recall the events from the night before. The shock of AJ being cuddle up next to her has her completely paralyzed. She's not even sure if she's breathing anymore, trying not to wake him. He stretches a bit then pulls her closer to him. His face ends up buried in her hair and his left arm wraps around her waist. Her first instinct is to freak out and run away. But after taking a few deep breaths she starts to relax and even finds the closeness sort of comforting. As she starts to fall back to sleep AJ must wake up. When he realizes where he is and what he's doing he quickly rolls over and scoots to the far edge of the bed.

Ravyn waits until she hears him half snore before she crawls out of bed. With ninja like stealth she sneaks into the bathroom where she changes back into her clothes from the night before. A smudge of leftover makeup gets dabbed away by a tissue and she decides to be on her way. She grabs her purse and exits the room as silently as possible. The hallway to the elevator is empty, luckily. The last thing she wants right now is to run into someone she knows. The elevator takes her to the lobby, where the sun is streaming through the large floor to ceiling windows. She blinks painfully at the intense light. The realization that she's going to regret all of last nights drinking begins with an epic headache. She groans to herself and makes her way to the front desk. The girl at the desk has a new card ready for her in just a few minutes time. As she turns away from the desk she hears a familiar voice.

"There you are!" Her best friend calls. "I've been knocking on your door for almost an hour trying to see if you wanted to go get breakfast with us! I was getting ready to come get a key and break in!"

"Sorry," Ravyn apologizes as her head pounds.

Concern shows on JJ's face, "Rough night?"

Ravyn nods. She tries to come up with a story about her whereabouts without lying to her best friend, "Stayed out drinking with The Club." Technically not a lie. "And I lost my room key. So I had to crash with one of the boys." She hates deceiving her best friend, but definitely is not ready to tell her that she spent the night in AJ's room.

JJ smirks, "Oh? Sounds like you had a good time. Looks like you could use some rest."

"It was a long night," Ravyn is so exhausted she doesn't even pick up the implication that JJ has laid down. "I'll catch you at the arena."

A few hours later Ravyn is helping Dango with a handful of tickets that they plan on handing out to the crowd during their entrance. The back stage area buzzes with activity as the crew sets up for tonight's live Pay Per View. When she's done helping Dango, Ravyn heads to the trainers office so they can assess the condition of her shoulder.

He puts her through a few minor routine movements to check on her range of motion. She winces when she pushes herself a bit too far. The trainer notices and calls it quits for the day.

"It's looking good," he tells her. "You're healing as well as can be expected. I'm going to show you a couple of exercises that I'd like you to start doing two to three times a week. Don't over do it though, that will be detrimental to your recovery."

"Do I have to keep wearing the brace off of TV?" She asks hopefully.

"For now, yes," he cautions. "I'd like to wait at least another month before we ditch the brace."

Ravyn finishes up with the trainer before heading to catering to spend some time with JJ. Before they know it though it's time to get ready for the pre-show. Ravyn changes into her Fashion Police gear and meets the boys near Gorilla. The rest of the tag teams for the Survivor Series tag match start to gather around.

Breezango's music hits and the three of them wait a moment before stepping through the curtain. Ravyn leads them to the top of the ramp and poses. Tyler comes up behind her and leans to her left with his selfie stick. They both look to their right as Dango does a sky high front kick. He steps off to the side of the ramp and starts handing out tickets to offending crowd members. Tyler's hand rests on her right hip as they watch him harass the public. Ravyn turns her head to look into the camera on the selfie stick in front of her and Tyler. Tyler smirks. She turns to look at him with the feeling that he's up to something. As soon as she's facing him she feels his soft lips on hers.

The crowd pops with a mixture of cheers and boos. Tyler breaks the kiss and gives the camera broadcasting their faces on the Titantron a cocky smile. As he steps around Ravyn he sees that she's drowning in the shock of the moment. He reaches back to take her hand in his and leads her down the ramp. She struggles to get her bearings at first, but by the time they're at ringside she's back to herself. The fans in the front row are given tickets while the other teams join them for the match. Dango is the first competitor for the Smackdown team. When the bell rings he starts handing out tickets to the members of both the Raw and Smackdown teams. He's quickly defeated and Breezango is eliminated from the match. Ravyn collects the boys and brings them back through the curtain.


	8. Chapter 8

**I really appreciate the reiews! Thank you for reading!**

"What the hell was that!?" Ravyn demands as they step back through the curtain into Gorilla.

"Vince's idea," Tyler holds his hands up defensively. "He didn't want you to know beforehand. Wanted a legitimate reaction!"

Before Ravyn can say anything else Road Dogg comes over to them. "That was great guys!" He smiles. "Vince loved it! He wants you guys to meet with him Tuesday to go over some new ideas he has."

They nod and shake his hand before going back to the locker room. Ravyn changes back into her street clothes and joins the crowd watching the women's survivor tag match on the monitor. She gets there just in time to see JJ tag in and put on a great wrestling segment with Charlotte. JJ gets pinned and is eliminated from the Smackdown team. She makes her way to the back while the match continues. Ravyn turns away from the TV and catches a glimpse of AJ. Their eyes meet and she offers him a friendly smile. He shakes his head, glaring at her coldly, and exits the room before she can figure out what happened.

Ravyn spends the rest of the evening hanging out with JJ and the girls from the Raw roster. When the conversation turns to relationships Ravyn finds an excuse to disappear. Not ready to fend off a bunch of questions about her current situation and relationship status. She packs up her gear bag and texts Dango. Luckily the boys are ready to leave as the main event finishes up. They head back to the hotel to get some rest before an early morning of travel to Monday's house show.

Tyler takes Ravyn's bag from the trunk of their rental car when they arrive at the arena early on Tuesday to meet with Vince. The three of them drop their gear in the locker rooms and set off to find Vince's office. In an odd turn of events Vince is there before them and welcomes them into the room.

"Can I tell you guys how much I love this Fashion Police stuff?" He starts. They grin at his praise. "And I think having Ravyn join the team is a nice addition. I was skeptical at first, but now I like it. And with last weeks media storm I think we should keep running with the publicity. You guys have been great with the social media updates. But I think I want to take it a bit further."

"What do you have in mind?" Dango is the first to ask.

"What I'd like to do is really push the FCC boundaries," he pauses. "I'd like to put you in an official on screen relationship."

Ravyn looks at the two guys, "Who?"

Vince laughs, "All three of you. One of those poly amorous relationships."

"How far are we taking this exactly?" Tyler asks skeptically.

"As far as you're comfortable going," he smirks. "We've done the Billy and Chuck thing already. So pushing the gay gimmick isn't the top priority. But Ravyn being in an open relationship with the two of you would be something that we haven't done before. I think it would make for some really interesting vignettes."

Ravyn thinks for a moment before responding, "I'm fine with it as long as you guys are."

The boys nod in agreement at the new angle, "When do we start?"

A mischievous grin creeps across Vince's face, "Tonight. I've got a pre-tape idea for you guys. It will air after your match tonight."

"Sounds good," Dango confirms. "We'll get with Carrano to get the pre-tape done."

Vince bids them farewell and goes back to messing around on his laptop. An awkward silence lingers over their group until Tyler pipes up.

"Are you sure you're ok with this angle?" He asks Ravyn.

She's quiet for a moment, "Yeah, there are much worse people I could be stuck with. Besides it might be kind of neat to be the first to do something on TV."

"People are going to hate us," Dango blurts out.

Ravyn shrugs, "They already hate me. I seriously doubt kissing you guys is going to make it any worse."

"You say that now," Tyler smirks.

Dango finishes his thought, "Don't underestimate our rabid fan girls!"

They all laugh and continue to Carrano's office. He's sitting at his desk tapping away on his cell phone as they peer through the open doorway. He glances up at them and quickly shuts the phone off.

"Hey guys," he stands up to greet them. "I imagine you've met with Vince and we're going to go ahead with the storyline. The kiss went over pretty well on Sunday night so we want to keep going that direction. Vince has a segment he wants you guys to film. So come with me and we can get started with that."

Hours later Breezango's music plays at the arena. Ravyn leads them to the top of the ramp as usual. Tyler leans around her with his selfie stick. He pans the camera from his face over to Ravyn's. Dango leans in on her right side to get into the shot. His right hand crosses in front of them to tilt her face towards him. His lips meet hers in their first on screen kiss. Their kiss ends with him giving the camera a steamy grin. He lets out a shout as he follows it up with his usual front kick. She gives the camera a devious smile and turns to plant a kiss on Tyler's waiting lips. The crowd has a moment of stunned silence before they start to boo wildly. Tyler's cocky grin on the Titantron tells them that the gimmick is working.

When they reach the ring the Hype Bros music hits. Mojo and Zack come tearing down to the ring exciting the crowd. As the teams come to the center of the ring Tyler hands them each a ticket. Zack's reads "Not Cute" and Mojo's says "Fugly." Tyler gets the jump on them while they're reading. The bell rings and the match is officially underway. Unfortunately, the match is another quick loss for Breezango. The team makes their way to the back, defeated.

As they come through the curtain Ravyn sees JJ off to the side watching one of the TV monitors. The announce team is promoting the WWE Network and preparing to go to commercial break.

"Well that was interesting," JJ smirks as her best friend approaches. "I see they're keeping you busy at least."

Ravyn rolls her eyes, "Our pre-tape should be on when they come back from commercial. Will you watch it with me?"

"Of course!" JJ smiles as Dolph joins them at the monitor.

"Hey babe, what are you guys doing?" He asks the girls as he plants a kiss on JJ's head.

JJ leans back into his chest, "We're waiting for them to come back from commercial to watch Ravyn's vignette."

Before he can respond the crowd at the arena appears on the TV. The shot quickly switches to a view of a locker room backstage. Steam pours out of the large open locker room shower. The camera pans to the main part of the room where Tyler is standing in just a towel looking angry. He picks up his police hat and looks at it. In an instant he slams the hat down on the floor throwing a temper tantrum.

"I can't believe those two idiots beat us!" He fumes.

Ravyn's head and right shoulder pop out from around the blue tile wall where the shower is. "Babe, we'll get them next time. Come shower. You'll feel better after you wash the Uggo off." She says with a seductive smile.

Dango's head and torso appear behind her and he peers out at Tyler. "Breeze! Come on!" He demands. "Breeze! Get in here!" Dango disappears back into the steaming shower dragging Ravyn with him.

Still cranky, Tyler walks over to the open doorway of the shower. He looks in at Ravyn and Dango off screen. The angry pout that had been on his face is replaced by his trademark cocky smirk. He steps into the shower and the last thing the screen shows is his towel being tossed out of the shower into a heap on the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

Ravyn looks at her best friend expectantly. JJ's face is a mixture of amusement and concern. Before either of the girls can say anything though Dolph chimes in, "Dude, that was kinda hot."

JJ slaps his arm with playful seriousness. "Are you sure you're ok with this storyline?" She worries.

Ravyn shrugs, "I'm a heel. The world already assumes I'm a terrible person. Might as well make money with it."

"I'm just concerned with how people are going to treat you," JJ explains. "Internet trolls and dirt sheets are relentless when it comes to celebrity gossip."

"They can gossip all they want. This angle is the most action I'm getting anyways," Ravyn huffs. "It'll be fine."

They chat for a little longer until Dolph has to get ready for his match. Ravyn returns to the locker room to change into her street clothes. When she's done she checks her phone to discover that her Twitter has started blowing up again after their vignette had aired. The video clip had already been shared a few thousand times when she clicks the link. She smiles to herself. At least all of the attention was good for the company. As the show nears its end she meets up with Tyler and Dango to go back to the hotel.

Upon their arrival the boys head up to their rooms. Ravyn stays in the lobby a bit longer to mooch the free WiFi and check her email. After clearing out a seemingly endless amount of social media mentions she decides to open up Instagram. She holds up her phone to take a quick selfie, begrudgingly trying to keep up with the office's social media demands. Seconds after posting the photo the likes and comments begin pouring in. Some of them are genuinely nice words of encouragement on her recovery. But the majority of them are either creepy guys hitting on her desperately or people telling her how much of a slut she is. Then there's also the ones asking how long she's been sleeping with Tyler and Dango. She shuts the phone off and stands up from the couch in the lobby. On her way to the elevator she catches a glimpse of AJ at the Concierge desk. She smiles at him and gives him a little wave. When he sees her he shakes his head and sneers with disgust turning the other way. Perplexed, she taps the button for the elevator and goes up to her room.

"Ugh, I'm so happy to be home," Ravyn exclaims as she carefully flops onto her couch Wednesday morning after a very early flight. Her shoulder is held together by a much smaller brace than she had been wearing before. "Thanks for helping me with my bag friend!"

"Any time!" JJ smiles. "I'm just glad we have two whole days off!"

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Ravyn joins in her friend's excitement. "Do we have any plans for this mini vacation?"

JJ ponders briefly, "I think Broski wanted to get us all to go to Disney with him."

Ravyn rolls her eyes, "Of course he does."

"It'll be fun," JJ giggles. "I'm pretty sure Tyler is coming, too."

"That's a miracle in itself!" Ravyn snorts. "When you figure out plans just let me know. I'll be ready." Ravyn watches her friend fidget impatiently. "Oh, just go. I know Dolph is waiting upstairs"

"Thanks," JJ smiles sheepishly.

Ravyn just laughs as her friend zooms out the door back to her apartment. Left to her own devices Ravyn spends the day relaxing and texting Tyler about their upcoming Disney adventure.

Tyler knocks on Ravyn's door early the next morning. She lets him in and continues to get ready while they chat.

"Zack has not stopped texting me about Disney," Tyler tells her.

"He misses you," Ravyn reasons. "That and he's crazy."

Tyler chuckles, "Are JJ and Dolph meeting us here?"

"Yeah, go ahead and text one of them," Ravyn suggests from the bathroom where she's touching up her makeup. "They should be down any minute."

Before he gets a chance a key jingles outside and the doorknob turns. JJ lets herself and Dolph in. After living together when they first started in NXT Ravyn insisted that JJ keep her key when she ended up moving to her own apartment upstairs. Dolph smiles when he sees Tyler on the couch and plops down next to him. JJ leaves them to go find Ravyn finishing her makeup.

"Hey friend, almost ready?" JJ asks with a yawn.

"Yep," Ravyn laughs. "I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb today."

"Well you ARE the palest person on the Smackdown roster," JJ confirms as she takes a look at Ravyn's dark makeup paired with a black tank top and shorts. "That and there isn't a goth punk princess at Disney. I mean we can bring you to the Villains shop, but the rest of the place is full of bright sun-shiny happiness."

Ravyn scowls, "Gross."

The girls giggle like school kids and meet the boys in the living room. Ravyn tosses JJ her car keys and the group is on their way to Disney World. They park in one of the huge parking lots and hop on the Monorail. Zack Ryder is waiting for them at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. He hands out tickets to everyone and leads them through the front gate. They spend the early hours knocking out the rides with the longest lines. After their third time on Space Mountain they start to just wander through the park. JJ and Ravyn take a picture with Merida from Brave and send it to Becky.

Ravyn and Tyler soon begin to mock JJ and Dolph by taking romantic couples pictures at all of the random photo hotspots themselves. They pause in front of Cinderella's castle to take a picture of them kissing and decide to immediately upload it to Twitter.

"Oh! There's totally a place where you'll feel a bit more at home Ravyn!" Zack recalls excitedly. "The Haunted Mansion!"

"Now that sounds like a wonderful place," Ravyn smiles.

Zack leads them to the creepy entrance of the ride and JJ starts to snicker. "This is the only place all day where I think you've looked even a little normal," JJ howls with laughter.

Ravyn sticks her tongue out at her friend and just enjoys the dark spooky atmosphere of the ride. They browse the gift shop full of creepy ghostly items on their way out of the park for the first time. Zack herds them onto the monorail and gets them on their way to EPCOT. Once inside the park they head directly to the World Showcase.

"Should we start in Mexico or Canada?" Zack asks vaguely.

Naively JJ responds, "Start what?"

Zack grins like a fool, "Drinking around the World!"

Ravyn, JJ and Tyler all share an excited look before shouting "Canada!" in unison.

"Oh, right," Zack says quietly. "I forgot that that was a thing."

The group begins their drinking adventure at the Canada pavilion. They snack and drink their way through the eleven countries represented. By the time they reach Germany they're completely bombed. They're all taking ridiculous pictures. JJ and Dolph keep sneaking off every now and again, but somehow manage to keep up with with everyone else. Tyler and Ravyn keep uploading risqué pictures to their social media accounts. As they round out their tour of wordy alcoholic beverages Zack insists that they return to the Magic Kingdom to catch the end of the night fireworks display. They follow him to the monorail and back to the other park. The Magic Kingdom is way more crowded than it had been earlier in the day, but the cover of darkness gets them less recognition.

Ravyn drags Tyler off to sneak in one last ride on the Haunted Mansion before the show begins. They lean on each other a bit as the walls seem to close in on them at the beginning of the ride. Soon they're seated close together in their Doombuggy. As the ride twists and turns through the mansion pushing them together with every spin the alcohol takes over and Ravyn can't stop herself from kissing Tyler. For a few minutes they're making out pretty hot and heavy until Tyler's better judgement prevails.

"We can't," he whispers breathlessly. "I don't want to ruin what we have."

Hurt, but knowing he's right Ravyn just nods her head. The ride deposits them back at the front of the mansion and they set off to meet their friends on Main Street USA. Zack points excitedly at the castle as the show begins. The five of them watch intently as the impressive fireworks show begins. Jealousy twinges through Ravyn as she watches JJ and Dolph snuggle close together while they watch. The buzz wears off and the show comes to an end. Knowing they've all got an early morning flight to catch they leave the park and head back home for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, Woods told me that a local shelter here lets you take dogs out for walks while you play Pokemon Go, want to come?" Tyler asks while they're collecting their luggage at Albany International Airport in Upstate New York.

There had been just the tiniest bit of awkwardness between them since last nights drunken Disney make out session. Relieved to see that things seem to be mostly normal between them Ravyn agrees, "That actually sounds kind of fun."

"Cool," Tyler smiles. "We've got a couple of hours before Dango's plane comes in. So we can go do that and grab some food before he lands."

"Deal," Ravyn nods.

They pick up their rental car and drive to the address that Xavier Woods had given them. Upon their arrival they're greeted by friendly staff that seem thrilled to get their dogs some more outside time. They each set out with a dog and full phone batteries. The shelter is located alongside the Hudson River with miles of paved walking paths in both directions. There are Pokestops and gyms lining the river walk, but what starts out as an adventure to play Pokemon Go turns into them having more fun playing with the dogs. The pups start to pant tiredly so Ravyn and Tyler bring them to a bench to take a break.

"Poor guys probably don't get to go on long walks like this too often," Ravyn empathizes.

"Nah," Tyler concurs. "But that's why we're here now."

"This was a good idea!" Ravyn tells him. They sit quietly quietly just petting the dogs and enjoying the unseasonably warm sunshine. "Hey, I'm really sorry about last night," Ravyn blurts out. "I shouldn't have done that."

"No big deal," Tyler shrugs. "It was nice. I mean don't get me wrong. You're super hot, but you're also one of my best friends. And I don't want to lose that. I want to be able to come out here and rescue dogs and hang out without things having to be more than that."

"No, you're completely right," she nods. "I don't know what I would do without you as a friend."

Tyler puts his arm around her shoulders gently, "I'll be here for you any time. Especially if you want to play video games or walk dogs... Or if you need help getting naked again."

She slaps him playfully and calls him an ass. Even as they sit enjoying each other's company she's a bit bummed. Nothing hurts quite like rejection, even when it's coming from someone you know you shouldn't be dating. When they get up to walk the dogs back to the shelter Ravyn texts JJ, desperately needing some quality girl time with her BFF.

The next morning Ravyn and JJ are up early in the hotel lobby. Both girls are bundled in oversized hoodies and hats as disguises. They giggle to themselves as they sneak out to JJ's rental car. The girls make their way from the hotel to the Boston Aquarium. They had driven through to Boston after last nights house show. They get tickets and start enjoying all of the different exhibits. While they're gazing at a tank of leafy sea dragons JJ notices that Ravyn has been even quieter than usual.

"Everything ok friend?" JJ asks carefully.

Ravyn chooses her words carefully, not wanting to make her friend feel bad. "This is going to sound awful," she starts. "But I think I'm jealous."

"Of who?" JJ asks confused.

Ravyn swallows hard, holding back embarrassment, "You."

JJ is taken aback by that word. "Seriously?" She thinks she's being ribbed. "Why?"

"Honestly," Ravyn pauses as she tries to break through a mental wall of nerves. "You and Dolph. You two are so perfect together. To see you guys together.." She stops. "It just reminds me that I can't keep a relationship to save my life."

Crestfallen, JJ grows concerned for her friend, "What do you mean?"

"You've got the great loving relationship with a sweet dude who seems to really care about you. And everyone assumes I'm a huge slut... When in reality I haven't even had a boyfriend since Corey and I were dating back in NXT. And we all remember what a disaster that was," she huffs. "And on top of that. I can't even hook up with anyone properly!" She stares at her friend frustratedly. JJ just eyes her quizzically. "I tried to kiss Tyler the other night in Disney. But he's too good of a friend to let anything happen."

"Huh..." JJ is at a loss for words. "And here I thought you two had been hooking up all along."

Ravyn grumbles, "Nope. Not for a lack of trying. I can't get any action to save my life."

"How is that even possible?" JJ just stares. "You two are together literally all the time. It's your job to make out with him on TV. How are you guys not sleeping together?"

"Fuck if I know!" Ravyn says louder than she intended. A handful of other Aquarium guests stare at her outburst. "All I know is that I'm full of all sorts of feeling that I'm not accustomed to. And I don't really like it."

JJ pulls Ravyn in for a tight hug, "Aww friend."

"Stop," Ravyn says dryly, but JJ continues to hug her in front of everyone. "Oh my god you're awful."

JJ finally lets her go and just smiles a huge obnoxious grin, "Come on. Let's go to the arena so we can eat lunch before the show."

A few hours later the girls are parked at a table in catering continuing their talk from the aquarium. Tyler sits down with them in the middle of their conversation.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" He asks when he notices their half serious expressions.

"Oh," JJ smirks. "Ravyn has decided all of a sudden that she has feelings. And she doesn't know how to handle them."

Tyler joins in, "You mean our Princess' icy black heart is melting? Is she going to be okay?!"

"I hate you," Ravyn jokes.

JJ giggles, "I know."

"Like a lot," Ravyn huffs as she loads up a fork full of mashed potatoes.

JJ sticks her tongue out at her best friend mockingly. Ravyn quickly flings the spoonful of delicious taters at her. But JJ is too fast for her and ducks the glob of starchy goodness. Ravyn watches in horror as the buttery blob sails past JJ and splatters onto the front of AJ's clean blue dress shirt.

The look on his face is one of utter displeasure. "Are you freakin kidding me? He looks at them in astonishment. "Are you guys freakin twelve!? You're nothing but a bunch of freakin hooligans!" He glares daggers at them before storming out of catering.

The three of them exchange a shocked look before JJ quips, "I'm starting to understand why he hates you." Ravyn blushes like crazy at her friend's unknowing comment.

The house show loop comes to an end the following night in Hartford. Monday morning Ravyn, Tyler and Dango pull into Bradley International Airport. They drop their rental car off and head to the gate for their flight to Calgary for tomorrow's Smackdown Live. Ravyn plops onto one of the hard plastic seats near the wall so she can charge her 3DS before they leave. They double check their tickets when they begin boarding to find that Ravyn is seated between the boys on the first leg of their trip. Once the plane is in the air Ravyn forgets about her video game and ends up sleeping on Dango's shoulder the entire flight, only waking up as they touch down in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

"Good morning Princess," Dango kisses her forehead.

She groans and stretches like a cat. Tyler snickers while she yawns audibly. Soon enough they're off of their first plane and enduring a long layover. They grab lunch and a few drinks at the Sky Club lounge. After what seems like an eternity they finally board their international flight to Calgary. They settle into their seats and the attendant comes around to check that their electronics are off and the seat belts are fastened.

"I'll need you to buckle your safety belt miss," she says as Ravyn struggles to get the buckles snapped.

"I think it's broken," Ravyn tells her.

The attendant excuses herself to resolve the issue while Ravyn keeps trying to get it buckled. She returns a few minutes later, "I'm sorry miss. It appears that the seatbelt on that seat is, in fact, broken. I'm going to have to move you to a different seat. If you could just come wit me?"

Ravyn squeezes out from in between Tyler and Dango she gives them a pouty look and grabs her carry on to follow the flight attendant. She's skeptical as she's lead through the curtain to First Class. The woman gestures to an open aisle seat.

"This is the last open seat on the flight," the woman explains. "Please, take the upgrade on us."

Ravyn swallows hard as she notices AJ Styles is the occupant of the neighboring seat. She thanks the woman and sinks into her chair while tucking her bag under the seat in front of her. The plane begins to taxi to the runway and soon they're taking off. AJ pops in his ear buds immediately and avoids any interaction with her. Ravyn, knowing that no rest will be had on this leg of the trip, pulls out her 3DS and powers it on. The familiar Tetris DS splash screen greets her. She thumbs through the menus and chooses her game style. She hits start and quickly begins cleaning line after line in the classic puzzle game. As much as he is trying to ignore her she can feel AJ's eyes locked onto her game. She keeps up handily as the speed increases, finally losing at around 270 lines cleared. AJ rummages through his bag and pulls out a 3DS of his own. He just points to the 2 player option, letting her know that he would like to join her game. She taps the icon and a few moments later they're playing against each other. Within the first hour AJ ditches his headphones, even though they aren't talking. Unable to resist the opportunity to share some useless trivia Ravyn breaks the silence.

"Do you know the fan theory behind Tetris?" She asks meekly.

He shakes his head, "I don't. What is it?"

She smiles excitedly, "It was created by a Russian office worker names Alexey Pajitnov. The theory is that the game is supposed to show you only your mistakes and never your successes." AJ gives her a look that tells her to go on. "If you think about it, as you're clearing lines they disappear. Your accomplishment goes away. However, any time you put a block in the wrong spot it stays there and remains a nuisance until you can make it go away as well. Sometimes that misplaced block, the mistake, will end up being the thing that causes you to lose. The theory says that Tetris is just a metaphor for life itself."

"That's interesting," AJ nods.

AJ barely cracks a smile and the two of them go back to playing in silence until they land in Calgary.


	11. Chapter 11

**I hope hope you guys are still enjoying this one! I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I'll be changing the rating for this story to M. As the chapter after this one has decided to get a bit smutty.**

At the arena the next night Ravyn attaches her fluffy leg covers. She hadn't told anyone about her first class adventure with AJ the day before, not really sure how to even bring it up. She brushes the memory from her mind and finishes pulling her gear on. JJ bursts into the room a few moments later.

"Hey they changed the card around again," her friend announces bubbling with excitement.

"Are we even on it?" Ravyn grumbles. "Or did I get dressed for nothing?"

JJ snickers, "Yes, you guys are on it. Tyler has a match with Dolph."

"A singles match?" Ravyn watches JJ nod.

"And even better," JJ smiles. "I'm valeting Dolph for the first time!"

A huge grin breaks out across Ravyn's face, "Yes! It's about time that you guys are on TV together. I mean, the fans have known for weeks!"

JJ blushes, "I'm nervous though."

"Don't be," Ravyn snorts. "You'll just have to watch out for the crazy Dolph fan girls."

"Oh my god, stop," JJ rolls her eyes and giggles.

Ravyn smiles, "It'll be nice to have you across the ring from us though."

"Maybe this can plant the seeds for our feud when you return in a few months," JJ suggests.

"That would be amazing," Ravyn admits. "There's no one I'd trust more to get back in the ring with."

The girls finish getting dressed as the show begins. Everyone meets up in gorilla as the show goes to commercial. Breezango's music plays first when they return from the break. Ravyn steps out from behind the curtain, stopping at the top of the ramp as they usually do. The boys stand to either side of her, leaning close to all fit into the frame of Tyler's phone. They both kiss her cheeks at the same time, then turn to give the camera a sultry stare. Ravyn adds a sassy wink before they begin their way down the ramp to ticket the front row.

As they reach ringside Dolph's music hits. Dolph bursts from behind the curtain energetically. He pauses to look out at the crowd and then points back towards the curtain. JJ emerges from the back wearing her long lime green and pink tights and one of Dolph's new shirts ripped up fashionably. The crowd erupts as Dolph slips an arm around her waist and plants a quick kiss on her lips. They continue down to the ring for Dolph and Tyler's match.

The bell rings and the fight is underway. While the guys battle in the ring Dango and Ravyn do their best to distract Dolph and let Tyler get the upper hand. JJ keeps them from being too dastardly though. Any time they go to interfere she's there to stop them. Ravyn decides to write JJ a cease and desist ticket. She hands her best friend the slip of paper with as much sass as possible. JJ glares at the ticket and rips it up right in front of their faces. Ravyn lunges at her, but Dango is there to hold her back. He's got both arms linked securely around her waist as she furiously swipes at JJ.

"Stop resisting!" He yells with authority.

It takes everything the girls have not to break down into giggles right there. Somehow they manage to keep their composure. The same cannot be said for Tyler who is hiding behind a face full of his own hair while Dolph has him locked into a submission hold. His body shakes with laughter as he taps out. Dolph gets the victory and celebrates in the ring with JJ while Dango and Ravyn help Tyler to the back. They come through gorilla to hear murmurs of bad weather. They think nothing of it as they split off to change, meeting up shortly after at catering.

"Hey have you guys seen the weather report?" JJ asks no one in particular.

"Nope," Dango shakes his head.

JJ looks concerned, "Nattie says were supposed to be getting a blizzard or something."

"Well, as long as we can get to the hotel tonight we should be fine," Ravyn rationalizes. "The roads should be clear enough to get to Edmonton tomorrow. We all know they won't cancel the show for anything."

Tyler smiles, "A little snow has never stopped us Canadians before."

JJ rolls her eyes as they head out to their cars. They're all treated by significantly more snow than they had anticipated. Five inches of fluffy white powder has already accumulated on their vehicles. They set to work clearing them off and slowly begin the journey to the hotel. Upon their arrival they see the staff hard at work making sure stranded travelers have a place to stay. By now the snow is coming down even harder. They venture back down to the lobby after checking into their rooms just to watch the snow. Now that they'd reached safety the child in each of them seems to break out at the sight of the snow falling. Before any of them can really stop it a snowball fight breaks out near the front doors of the hotel.

No one is safe. Wrestlers, ring crew, announcers. Anyone that comes into range is treated with a barrage of poorly aimed snowballs. Most fall harmlessly at passerby's feet and everyone has a good laugh. Ravyn lobs another snowball at Dolph who takes the hit square in the chest. He retaliates with two launched back at her in rapid succession. She's hit by the first but the second goes sailing by her, shattering on the shoulder of AJ Styles. Ravyn covers her mouth in shock. Dolph starts to apologize.

"Don't," AJ stops him. "Just don't."

Still cranky, AJ disappears into the lobby. The rest of the exchange confused shrugs and return to their game. The cold finally starts to get to them a few minutes later and they have to head back inside to change into dry clothes. After changing into something warm and dry Ravyn decides to go back down to the first floor to see what the vending machines have to offer. Finding nothing worthwhile she wanders back to the elevator. She arrives to see a frustrated looking AJ already waiting for the elevator himself. Ever the southern gentleman when the door opens he gestures for her to get on first. They both reach for the same button, she recoils her arm, letting him tap the eleven. They stand in an awkward silence waiting for the doors to close. When the doors begin to shut Ravyn pipes up.

"What the hell is your problem with me?" She finally gets the courage to ask.

"My problem?" He sneers. "My problem is you parading around like a freakin harlot. Kissing both of those guys every night. Sleeping with them. I've seen you coming out of their rooms..."

She cuts him off, "So you just assume that I'm fucking them too? I though you'd be smarter than that," she pauses. "Why the fuck does it matter to you who I kiss anyways!?"

With lightning like quickness turns to face her, slamming his hands onto the elevator wall on either side of her head. Seeing that she's startled AJ sighs, "Because I freakin like you okay?" Not the response she expected. "And every time I see you kiss them I get so angry and jealous. I want to be the one kissing you!"

Flustered and a bit surprised she shoves him hard in the chest with both hands, "What's stopping you then!?"

As if he had been waiting for permission seconds later their lips crash together. He wraps a hand behind her head gently as their kiss deepens. His body presses against hers, pushing her against the cool steel wall of the elevator. The panel beeps as they pass each floor. Their steamy make out session ends as they near the eleventh floor. AJ breaks away from her but keeps staring into her eyes. They move to opposite corners of the small space just before the doors open. Not sure how exactly to react, but knowing she wants more, Ravyn diverts her eyes from AJ. Dolph and JJ are waiting for the elevator upon the doors opening.

"Hey friend!" JJ greets her cheerfully. "There's a twenty-four hour pool and hot tub here! Come swimming with us."

Ravyn smiles, "Aww thanks. But I'm a bit sore." She rubs her shoulder for emphasis. "I think I'm going to get some rest."

"Aww okay, " JJ sympathizes. "Feel better friend!"

Dolph and JJ exchange brief hellos with AJ before stepping onto the elevator themselves. The doors close behind Ravyn as she steps off. AJ is already twenty feet down the hallway. He stops at the door of his room looking through his wallet for something. Ravyn passes him and reaches for the handle of her room a few doors down. He shoots a quick look her way before disappearing inside. She lets herself into her room and leans against the back of the door, not realizing she had been holding her breath. A tidal wave of emotions hits her as she tries to figure out what had just happened. She runs a hand through her hair and squeaks in fright as the hotel phone starts to ring. Startled by the harsh sound of someone calling her room phone she cautiously walks across the room. Before picking up she hopes to herself that is isn't some crazy fan calling.

"Hello?" She says quietly.

"They're down at the pool. Probably not for long," she recognizes the southern drawl immediately. "If you'd like to pick up where we left off I'm in 1138."

He hangs up before she can respond. Her mind races trying to make a decision. Should she stay or should she go?


	12. Chapter 12

The phone begins to beep in her ear reminding her to hang up. Time almost seems frozen as she contemplates AJ's proposal. Her mind races in fifty different directions thinking about the possibilities. She drops the phone onto its cradle and looks at herself in the mirror across the room. Walking up to it she leans in to wipe away a smudge of eyeshadow. As if to psych herself up she runs a hand through her hair and let's out a huge sigh. She grabs her room key and leaves her cell phone behind on the dresser.

Making sure the door clicks shut behind her she makes the decision to go to AJ's room. The hallway is silent as she sneaks down towards the elevator. As she nears his room she's overcome by nerves. Turning away quickly she starts heading back towards her own room as she hears the elevator door chime and open. A hotel employee smiles at her as he hurriedly pushes a room service cart full of delicious smelling silver trays past her. She blinks and takes a deep breath before turning back towards his room with renewed confidence. She reaches the ominous structure and taps the door with two quick knocks. The door opens a few seconds later, just as she was getting ready to turn and run back to the safety of her room. AJ pops his head outside to see if anyone is watching. When he sees no bystanders he takes her by the hand and pulls her into his room. Barely inside he pushes her up against the wall. Sparks shoot through her body as his hand cups her chin. He moves in and kisses her. She reacts by grabbing a fistful of his tee shirt and pulling his body against hers.

"Mmm even better than I remember it," his accent sounds even hotter in that delicious throaty moan.

Her good arm reaches up and wraps her fingers into his shoulder length brown hair. Their mouths meet again, shushing him. They remain two steps inside the door in the small hallway of the room just exploring each other. She tugs his shirt up over his head and takes a moment to enjoy his bare muscular chest. Her hands roam his body while their tongues dance together. He lifts the hem of her shirt gently, to not hurt her shoulder, and tosses the garment to the floor alongside his. His strong hands travel down her sides coming to rest at her waist. With minimal effort he hoists her up, letting her wrap her legs around his hips.

They press their foreheads together and stare into each other's blue eyes. Hers more smokey grey while his are a crisp icy blue. AJ smiles playfully at the tiny frame straddling his body. He carries her over to the bed and sets her down gently. She thwarts his attempt to stand up by grabbing his belt buckle and pulling him down on to of her. She fumbles with his belt for what seems like forever. Finally she gets it undone and grins at him triumphantly. He smirks and slides out of his dark jeans. He captures her mouth in another flurry of kisses. His hands swiftly unsnap the button on her jeans and guide her out of them.

They lay together enjoying the closeness of their skin touching. Electricity seems to course through them at every point of contact. He gives her a look that asks permission to keep going. She runs a finger down his chest practically begging him not to stop. From that moment on there's no hesitation. The rest of their clothes are flung haphazardly to the floor. The room is filled with moans of pleasure as their bodies entangle each other in frenzied sex. The next twenty or so minutes are a flurry of pawing hands, tugs of hair and fulfilled desires.

Ravyn lies with her head on AJ's chest, both of them completely spent. "You know no one can know about this, right?" AJ says quietly.

She nods, still hazy from the experience, "Definitely."

A few hours pass with them laying together until Ravyn decides to go back to her own room. AJ walks her to the door, pokes his head into the hall and peers up and down each direction to make sure no one will see her leaving. As she steps into the hallway he pulls her in for a quick goodbye kiss. She hurries back to her room, desperately in need of some sleep before continuing the house show loop.

Early Sunday morning Ravyn's flight touches down in Dallas, Texas. Exhausted from the Canadian tour she drags herself from the plane to the baggage claim area. She checks a few voicemails on her way. Excitement fills her as she gets clearance from the head doctor to start working out more heavily. Tyler and Dango are waiting for her as she rounds the corner into the crowded space.

"Someone sure looks happy to be awake at four A.M," Dango stifles a yawn.

"Doc says if everything looks good today I may be able to get back into the ring soon," Ravyn beams.

"Awesome!" Tyler hugs her tightly.

Her smile just won't quit, "I'm officially cleared to start weight training again. And by tonight I think I'll be able to ditch this lame brace!"

Dango wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her forehead, "That's great. Let's get to the hotel so we can go train!"

"I'm going to take a nap first," Ravyn yawns as she walks to the carousel to grab her bag. As she yanks it off of the belt she locks eyes with AJ on the other side of the huge machine. He smirks and walks off before anyone can notice them. Ravyn blushes slightly and drags her bag back over to the boys.

They check into the hotel and get a few hours of sleep before heading to the arena early for the TLC PPV. Ravyn immediately goes to Doc's office after setting her bag down in the locker room. He pokes and prods her shoulder repeatedly and has her do some range of motion tests. Satisfied with the results he gives her some much needed good news.

"I think you'll be okay to start some light ring work. Nothing crazy," he warns. Just get back in there and start running some drills. Hit the ropes, get back into some of the basics. No bumping for a few more weeks, but let's start to shake that ring rust off." She nods excitedly. "I mean it," he says sternly. "Bare basics. Cardio Stuff. Low impact."

"What about the brace?" Ravyn asks hopefully.

Doc smiles, "You don't need it anymore. Maybe keep it packed for a few weeks just in case you're sore. But you should start weening yourself off of it."

She assures him that she understands, shakes his hand and leaves his office to go find her friends. She almost skips down the hallway which must be quite the sight for onlookers. Her tattoos, dyed hair, dark clothes and makeup don't exactly personify a sunshiny outlook. She runs into everyone at catering.

"Look at you," JJ smirks. "If you were anyone else I'd say you looked radiant. But since you're you... I'll go with less murderous and gloomy."

Ravyn sticks her tongue out at her friend, "I got cleared to do some light ring work."

"Friend! That's amazing!" JJ squeals. "Let me know when you need someone to run the ropes with."

"I'd like to get in there today if you have the time," Ravyn suggests.

JJ jumps up from her seat, "Yes! Let's go!" The girls giggle and race back to the locker room to get changed into workout clothes. As they sit lacing up their boots JJ makes an observation. "You're happier than you were last week. Even before you got the clear today. Something is different. But what?"

Ravyn shrugs not willing to break AJ's trust, "No idea." The two of them had been sneaking into each other's hotel rooms almost every night and going at it like rabbits.

They start to walk through the labyrinth of hallways to the arena itself. JJ observes her as they walk. "You've got that super sassy sex kitten swagger back to your w..." She pauses. "Oh my god! Did you get laid!?"

Ravyn slaps at her, blushing madly, "Shh! The whole locker room doesn't need to hear!"

"Who was it? Do I know him? Is he hot?" JJ's outbreak of questions begins.

"J, I love you. But I'm not spilling it," Ravyn laughs.

"That's fine. Don't tell me. Your best friend. Whose been there for you through everything. Who tells you every minuscule detail of her entire life," JJ guilts her jokingly. "I'll figure it out eventually.

Ravyn rolls her eyes and lies, "It's no one you know. Just a random hookup." She can feel her friend's eyes on her begging for more. "Yes, he was incredibly hot."


	13. Chapter 13

An hour before the Pay Per View pre-show begins Ravyn and Breezango get word that they don't have a spot on the show. Ravyn finds a good seat in front of the backstage monitors to watch the show with JJ until Dolph's Intercontinental Title match with The Miz. As the match begins Ravyn puts a hand on JJ's shoulder. She can sense the worry in her friend as she cringes at every hellacious bump Dolph takes. Finally JJ can't take anymore and rushes out to ringside. With her assistance Dolph secures the victory and the title. Ravyn meets JJ at gorilla after the match.

"Hey friend," JJ smiles when she sees her.

"Congrats on bringing the title back where it belongs!"Ravyn hugs her and Dolph.

"Seriously," JJ laughs. "Hey, Dolph and I were thinking about hosting a late Friendsgiving early Christmas thing. At my place Wednesday?"

"I live in the same building," Ravyn rolls her eyes. "Of course I'll be there."

"Awesome!" JJ squeals. "Dolph and I are going to head back to the hotel before the main. We've got an early flight."

"No worries friend," Ravyn hugs her. "I'll see you tomorrow in Portland."

JJ bids farewell to her friend and disappears to meet Dolph. Ravyn wanders back to where the backstage monitor is set up. Tyler and Dango wave her over as the women's match ends. Her eyes meet AJ's for a fleeting moment as he walks to gorilla. She sits down with the boys and tells them about JJ's party plan. They excitedly chat about their party ideas until Dean Ambrose's music hits for the main event. AJ enters the arena next, the World Heavyweight title belt hanging high above the ring.

AJ and Dean hold absolutely nothing back. Everyone watching backstage gasps at the risks they take with their bodies. Tables, chairs and steel ladders connecting with bare flesh echo through the arena. At some point AJ's tights must get caught up on some chunk of the destroyed metal. As he turns away from the camera a glaring hole in the seat of his pants is broadcast to the WWE Universe. The crowd notices immediately and begins heckling the champion relentlessly. The match comes to a climax when enhancement talent James Ellsworth knocks Dean off of a ladder allowing AJ to climb up and grab the title. Ravyn smiles, happy that AJ has retained.

Dango catches her grinning madly, "You sure look happy watching two guys destroy each other."

"Violence can be totally hot," Ravyn only half jokes.

Dango laughs, "This is why we get along so well." Ravyn smirks at his remark. She does get along with Dango exceptionally well. He's one of the few people who's just as weird as she is.

Dean and AJ make their way through gorilla and disappear into the locker room to get cleaned up. Ravyn meets Tyler and Dango to return to the hotel. On their short drive Ravyn's phone lights up with a text. It's AJ, who she has saved under a secret code name in her phone. The message tells her to stop at the hotel desk when she gets there. Tyler parks the car and everyone heads to their rooms. Ravyn takes a quick shower and puts on some fresh makeup. She chooses some sexier clothing items from her bag and slips them on. A low cut black tank top and a short skirt. She throws on an oversized zip up hoodie and her Dr. Marten boots before heading down to the front desk. Taking the time to shower and get changed ensures that she's less likely to run into anyone she knows. She gives the woman at the desk her name and receives an envelope in return. She opens it on the way to the elevator to reveal a room key with the number 305 scrawled onto an accompanying piece of paper. She taps the button for the third floor when she boards the lift. The doors close and whisk her up the two floors.

The hallway is quiet when the doors open on the third floor. She takes the keycard in her hand and finds the door to AJ's room. Stealthily she unlocks the door and slips inside. AJ looks up from his portable Xbox TV and smiles at her.

"I was beginning to think you were going to stand me up tonight," he smirks.

She rolls her eyes, " And leave the champ all alone without anyone to celebrate with?"

AJ closes the folding screen to his gaming setup, "Yeah, the champ sure showed them exactly why he's the champ tonight!"

"That's not the only thing you showed them," Ravyn giggles mischievously.

"Oh you think that's funny do ya?" AJ stands up and captures her lips roughly with his own.

Between kisses Ravyn squeaks out, "Yeah, I got a pretty good chuckle out of seeing your ass on TV."

He snakes a hand up into her hair and kisses her again, rougher still. Her laugher turns to purrs of pleasure as they set to work removing each other's clothes.

Two nights later as Smackdown comes to a close in Seattle the roster starts to leave the arena. JJ and Dolph head to the airport to catch a red eye back to Orlando and set up for their party. Ravyn lets herself back into the locker room to find AJ's hotel key stuffed into her sneaker under her phone. A text awaits her with his room number. The boys are waiting for her as she emerges from the women's locker room. On the way to the hotel they chat excitedly about JJ's Friendsgiving party the next day.

"I can't wait to have a day off after partying all night," Dango sighs.

Ravyn nods, "I feel like they schedule us so we CAN'T party too much."

"That's probably true," Tyler concurs.

"Yeah, otherwise I'd be out drinking all the time," Dango admits.

Ravyn giggles, "We're really just lucky not to be on the same brand as Gallows and Gun."

"My liver should thank whoever drafted us to separate shows," Dango quips.

"I'll second that," Tyler nods.

When they reach the hotel Ravyn stops at the vending machines to let the boys go on ahead. Deciding to live dangerously she goes directly to AJ's room instead of her own. She lets herself in and places her rolling bag next to AJ's by the TV stand.

He smirks at her from the couch, "Impatient tonight?"

She rolls her eyes playfully, "Listen a girls got needs, and sometimes we just can't wait to take care of them." She saunters across the floor and straddles his lap on the small couch.

His arms slink around her waist pulling her body close to his. Their lips meet in some sort of formal greeting. Ravyn slides her fingers deep into AJ's thick brown hair. He works her shirt up slowly, then pulls it off over her head. She tugs at his sleeveless shirt until his bare chest is exposed in front of her. Their bodies grind together as AJ picks Ravyn up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He carries her over to the bed and sets her down gently. His lips trail kisses from her collarbone down to her stomach, where his hands quickly unfasten her belt, and back up to her mouth. He slips her out of her pants, keeping his lips locked with hers. She bites softly at his lower lip eliciting a throaty growl from him. Her hands travel to the elastic band of his TapOut shorts and slowly start shimmying them off, but she's stopped in her tracks by a knock at the door.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ravyn sighs in frustration. The knock comes again.

AJ shoots her an authoritative look. "You. Bathroom. Now," He whispers harshly. "Turn the shower on."

She slinks past him and into the bathroom as he tries to compose himself. Another loud bang on the door doesn't help his flustered appearance. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath before peeking through the peep hole. He shakes his head in annoyance and opens the door.

"Hey man," Dean Ambrose greets him nonchalantly.

"Hey," is all AJ can think to respond with.

Ambrose fumbles a bit, obviously intoxicated, "I was just out here wandering the halls. Wondering if maybe you wanted to go grab a couple of drinks at the bar." AJ tries to respond but Dean cuts him off. "Man you sure pack a lot of suitcases.." Dean slurs as he looks past AJ's shoulder into his room where his and Ravyn's clothes are all over the floor near their bags.

"Dean!" Renee calls from up the hall a short distance. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"AJ is going to come drink with me!" Dean grins goofily.

"Sorry," Renee apologizes to AJ as she rushes up to Dean. "No, AJ isn't going to go drinking with you. Because you need to come to bed. We have an early..."

"Yeah but," Dean cuts her off. "Look at all the luggage this guy packs."

She shoots a look into the room to see the path of destruction and blushes, "Dean, bed." She finally gets him turned around and mouths "I'm so sorry" to AJ as she drags Dean back to their room.

AJ shuts the door, letting out a huge sigh. Ravyn peeks her head out of the bathroom doorway. "That was close huh?" She almost smirks.

"If Dean's drunk memory is any good I'll be fielding questions about how much luggage I travel with for a few weeks," AJ chuckles.

"I think we'll have to worry more about Renee than Dean," Ravyn concludes.

AJ sighs, "You're probably right."

Ravyn pulls AJ towards her and plants a deep kiss on his lips. A mischievous twinkle in her eye she slides a hand into the waistband of his shorts. "Gotta admit though," she nips at his collarbone. "Almost getting caught is totally a turn on."

AJ lets out a husky breath immediately back to where they had been before the interruption. He spins her around and has her bent over the bathroom sink in just a few seconds. One hand buried in a fist full of her colored hair and the other roaming her naked figure. His name is just one of the many things that escape her lips in between gasps and moans. He leans down while pulling her head back up towards him. He captures her mouth with his as they both reach their climax together.

Exhausted they exit the bathroom and collapse into a heap onto the bed. Ravyn snuggles herself up to AJ, resting her head on his muscular chest. Her hand roams over his pecs and abs twirling the smattering of hair on his torso between her fingers.

"I hate to admit this," she starts. "But I'm going to miss you over the next couple of days."

AJ laughs, "You're just mad that you won't have my room to sneak off into for a few days."

"JJ is having a party tomorrow, I kind of wish you could go," she admits.

He runs a hand through her messy mop of hair, "Some day. Just not yet... Besides we have that UK tour coming up next week. We should be able to spend plenty of time together then."

She smiles, "All new places to almost get caught in."


	14. Chapter 14

**Anyone still reading? Thoughts?**

Ravyn reaches out to grab the door handle of JJ's apartment. As she's about to turn the knob she decides that a quick warning knock wouldn't hurt. Three quick raps, a deep breath and she lets herself in. The sound of the shower running is the first thing Ravyn notices. JJ pops her head out of the kitchen when she hears the door shut.

"Hey friend," her smile is infectious.

"Need me to do anything?" Ravyn asks as she wanders into the small space.

JJ thinks for a second, "Want to chop some veggies while I finish getting the rest of this stuff together."

Ravyn smirks, "Aww I love when you let me play with the knives!"

They giggle and set about their tasks. Dolph emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later with a towel in his hands drying his hair. He nods a quick greeting to Ravyn before helping JJ get together all of the supplies for the party. Ravyn brings the tray of vegetables out to join the other trays of food. They begin making trips back and forth to the common room of the apartment complex. JJ does the setting up while Dolph and Ravyn bring trays of food, disposable tableware and endless beverages to the room. As they finish the setup JJ steps away to the bar table. She returns to where Dolph and Ravyn are setting out silverware and paper plates with three shot glasses filled to the brim.

"Ahh, good to see that some traditions never die," Ravyn rubs her hands together in anticipation. Dolph looks between them quizzically. "We always have the first drink of the night before a party. And we always go with peanut butter and jelly shots... Because we're fucking children," Ravyn laughs.

JJ hands them each a shot. "Cheers!" She says with a grin as they slam their drinks.

Dolph coughs and sputters, "What the hell is in that!?"

"Frangelico and Chambord," Ravyn smirks. "J and I used to buy the Frangelico nips because they look like little Aunt Jemima bottles."

"You two are weird," Dolph chuckles kissing JJ's head.

A knock at the door of the hall ends their pre-game session and the party begins. Many of their local coworkers show up. Tyler, Fandango, Zack Ryder, Nattie and her husband TJ, Becky and her boyfriend Luke, and a handful of others. The drinks start flowing. Party games are spread inside the hall and open up onto the patio between the building and the pool. Dolph turns on some music for background noise as people mingle about. Ravyn and Tyler call dibs on the winner of the beer pong game between team Becky and Luke and team Nattie and TJ. Becky sinks the winning shot, much to Nattie's dismay. Unfortunately Ravyn and Tyler are either not terribly good at beer pong or Becky is just a master, as they are handily defeated.

Tyler and Ravyn sway a bit after their second drinking game loss of the night. They slink into a couple of chairs at one of the less occupied tables in the room. Dango comes in from the patio wearing board shorts and a reflective pair of sunglasses even though the sun has already gone down. The buzz from their loss has them all laughing at things that aren't even funny. Ravyn snaps a picture of the three of them drinking and uploads it to Instagram.

She shoots a quick text to AJ before putting her phone back into her pocket. When she looks back up she sees that Finn Balor has arrived at the party. She notices his shoulder brace and immediately feels bad for him. He had been injured at Summer Slam, right around the same time that Ravyn did. His injury far worse than hers, even more heartbreaking that he had just won the Universal championship and had to relinquish the belt.. She makes her way over to him.

"How much longer do they have you in that thing," she asks pointing to the brace.

His thick Irish accent makes everything he says more interesting than it actually is, "Hopefully not too much longer. I'm bored out of my mind. How are you healing up?"

"Cleared for basic ring work," shy sympathizes. "No bumping, but I can hit the ropes and run drills."

"Dats good," he smiles. "When I get that clear maybe we can work out at the Performance Center together."

Ravyn grins, "That would be awesome. Hit me up when you've got the go ahead and we can do some rolling around."

They chat a bit longer. Finn flirting and Ravyn being completely oblivious to his advances. Tyler starts to stand closer to her the more she talks with Finn. Dango notices and follows suit. Eventually Finn wanders off to mingle with his friends as the night goes on. A few hours later Ravyn, Tyler and Dango are drunkenly stumbling back to her apartment. Being a good host she insists that the boys stay over and not pay for cabs home. She staggers into her room, strips down to her bra and underwear then collapses onto the king size bed. The bed is comically large in the small bedroom. She reaches over to put her phone on top of the dresser that almost touches the side of the bed and snuggles under the light covers.

"No, that's a ridiculous question. We would never let someone get away with wearing socks and flip flops," Ravyn hears Dango say. He sounds far closer than the couch in the living room where she had left him and Tyler the night before. She attempts to roll over in the large bed but is stopped by a warm body next to her. She goes from half asleep to wide awake in an instant. She peers over the body next to her to discover Dango live streaming on Facebook. "Oh hey, good morning babe," he smirks into the camera as her head appears over his shoulder.

The sheer shock of the situation leaves her speechless. Tyler pops his head up from the far side of the beds, "Could you guys keep it down. Some of us need our beauty sleep!"

Stunned to find both of them in her bed she reaches over Dango and turns off his streaming session, "What the hell are you guys doing in my bed?!"

"You said there was plenty of room last night," Tyler says defensively as he yanks some of the blanket his direction.

"When? When did I say this?" She huffs dramatically.

Dango flips over to face her, "I don't know. Like twenty minutes after we got back. We asked if you had an extra blanket and you just told us to share yours."

"Figured we should share it before Finn tries to weasel his way in," Tyler grumbles passive aggressively.

Ravyn looks over her shoulder at him, "What are you even talking about? You guys are insane this morning!"

"And hung over," Dango adds. "So if we could keep the voices down that would be fantastic."

"You don't remember Finn flirting with you last night?" Tyler questions grumpily.

"No?" She tries to remember the night before, but most everything is hazy.

"Well he was!" Tyler huffs. "And we didn't appreciate it did we Dango?"

"He totally was," Dango confirms through a yawn. "And we did not."

Ravyn looks from Tyler to Dango and back a few times. "You guys are serious? You're mad because someone flirted with me?"

"Not just someone," Tyler says defensively. "Finn Balor."

"Yeah.." Dango jumps in. "He's like.. a huge slut. Total vag slayer."

"You deserve better than that," Tyler nods. "Not some jerk that's just looking for a hookup."

For a second she wants to be mad. Really mad. Then she realizes that they really were just being good friends and trying to look out for her best interests. "Thanks. I think," she sighs. "But next time could we maybe wait until I have clothes on before we Facebook Live?"

"I think we should Facebook Live with significantly less clothes," Dango smirks. "That would be way hotter."

"You're awful," she tosses the covers off and steps off of the foot of the bed in nothing but her underwear.

"And you love it," Dango sasses her back.

She pauses in the doorway to turn back and flip him off before walking away laughing.

The following day Breezango arrives at the arena in Greensboro, NC to begin a Smackdown house show loop. After Dango's Facebook Live video the day before social media had again gone crazy for the three of them. Ravyn had received a nonstop barrage of snarky messages calling her every name in the book. Men assume she's easy and women hate her for whatever reason it is that women hate other women. While the boys get lots of praise for landing an attractive female. They usher her past the fans in the parking lot to avoid any incidents. They dump their bags into the locker rooms. Ravyn changes into workout clothes and heads down to the ring. As she stretches and warms up JJ makes her way down the ramp to join her. Her friend rolls into the ring and jumps right into the warmup routine. They hammer out a few quick drills before settling into some basic chain wrestling.

"So," JJ starts as they lock up. "Everything ok after yesterday?"

"I guess," Ravyn shrugs. "I mean the Facebook video was a little annoying, but not a huge deal."

"Do you guys usually all share the same bed?" JJ snickers.

"No," Ravyn snorts. "I don't even know how that happened."

"We'll all three of you were plastered when you left the party," JJ reasons. "Did you sleep with either of them?"

"No!" Ravyn almost jumps down her throat.

JJ chuckles, "Just checking friend."

The girls roll around a bit longer. On their way back through gorilla Mark Carrano stops them.

"Just the ladies I was hoping to see," he smiles that creepy grin of his.

"What's up Mark?" JJ asks carefully.

"I need you guys for an episode of Ride Along," he pitches hastily. "Not together obviously. JJ and Dolph. Ravyn and Breezango. Rentals and hotels will be covered as a thank you for doing the show."

"Throw in dinner and you've got a deal," JJ negotiates.

"Yeah with dinner, we could probably swing that," Ravyn nods.

Carrano shifts his eyes back and forth between them, trying to decide if they're joking, "Deal."

"Great! When do we film?" Ravyn grins.

"JJ and Dolph will film tonight. Greensboro to Knoxville," he starts. "And the Fashion Police will film tomorrow. Knoxville to Augusta." The girls shake his hand. As soon as he's out of earshot they squeal and jump around excited to be on their favorite WWE Network show.

"I guess I should probably tell Dolph," JJ heads off to find her boyfriend.

Ravyn starts to walk from gorilla when she catches AJ's eye. She smiles at him subtly but his response is an icy cold glare. She shoots him a befuddled look but he just turns and walks away angrily. She returns to the locker room and picks up her phone from her bag to text AJ.

"What's wrong?" She sends.

"I don't appreciate you sleeping with other guys."

She's baffled by his response, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you in bed with them," he fires back a quick succession of texts. "When it's for work that's one thing." "But that wasn't work!"

"You're being ridiculous. Nothing happened and I didn't sleep with either of them."

"Whatever"

She sighs, "I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then."


	15. Chapter 15

Ravyn spends the day hiding from just about everyone. She comes out for Breezango's match, but her friends can all tell that something is bothering her. She's silent on the drive to the hotel in Knoxville. They arrive shortly after 2 AM and check into their rooms. Knowing that AJ had left Greensboro after them she hangs back to ask the receptionist to hold a key on the off chance that he decides to let go of whatever drama he's holding on to. She gets to her room and crawls between the covers, angry at herself for being this upset by someone who isn't even her boyfriend. The buzz of her phone on the nightstand startles her. A text from Tyler pops up on the screen after she unlocks the device.

"You know I'm here if you need to talk right?"

"Thanks dude," she shoots back, but doesn't engage further.

The city lights dance across the walls and ceiling as she lays awake staring into the empty hotel room. The clock on the nightstand reads 3:37 when she hears the door to her room open up. Light from the hallway floods into the room and quickly disappears, followed only by the light from AJ's cell phone. He kicks off his shoes and tosses his shirt onto the floor nearby. The light from his phone illuminates the path to the bed. He crawls into bed next to Ravyn and lets out an exhausted sigh. She starts to say something but he shushes her, saying that they can talk in the morning. His arms pull her close against his body and within minutes they're both asleep.

AJ's alarm sounds at 9 AM. He groans and slaps at the phone to silence it. Ravyn rolls over to face him and buries her head in his chest.

"I can't stay long," he whispers, not ready to embrace the morning. "I have a signing at noon."

She nods, "Are you still mad at me?"

"I'm not exactly happy," he admits. "But if you say nothing happened I'm going to believe you."

"I promise you," she looks into his eyes. "Nothing happened."

He kisses her forehead. "I need to eat.. And workout before this appearance," he begrudgingly throws his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'll see you at the arena," she confirms. "Or, more accurately, in Augusta. We're doing Ride Along tonight."

"Are you flying home before the U.K. tour" he wonders.

"Haven't decided yet," she shrugs. "I've got everything I need to go with me. I may just drive to Atlanta a day early."

"Let me know when you figure that out," he runs a hand through his hair and stands up. She can't help but smile as she watches him put his shirt on. He can feel her eyes on him so he smirks and finishes putting it on as slowly as possible.

Flustered by his display she whines, "You, are such a tease."

He shoves his feet into his sneakers and walks back to the side of the bed. Leaning down he whispers into her ear huskily, "It's only teasing if I don't intend to follow through." He quickly kisses her and vacates the room, leaving her wanting so much more.

Two hours later Ravyn slides into the back seat of Breezango's rental car. Tyler drives them to the gym where Ravyn spends an hour doing her physical therapy routine while the boys lift weights. She manages to sneak a short leg workout in while the boys finish up their routine. They head to the arena in their TapOut gear knowing that they're going to do a bit of ring work before the show.

Tyler runs a bunch of drills with Ravyn and JJ to warm up. Then, he and JJ run through some basic spots while Ravyn plays referee. They finish with JJ getting a quick roll up pin on Tyler. The three of them head to the back to get cleaned up before the show begins.

Breezango open the show with a tag match against the Usos. They end up losing when Dango gets pinned by Jey after Jimmy lays Tyler out on the outside. The Usos celebrate with the fans at ringside while Ravyn helps the boys to the back. Once they're through gorilla the boys hook a left and head back to their locker room. Ravyn goes down the opposite hallway past catering. She grabs a cold bottle of watch from the bucket of ice and cracks the seal. She raises the bottle to her lips and takes a long drink while she continues towards the women's locker room.

As she walks past an intersecting hallway a hand reaches out to grab her arm. A squeak of fright escapes her lips as she's yanked into the other hallway and through a solid door leading to a large storage closet. The door closes behind her and she turns around to see AJ seething with anger.

"You said you didn't fuck them," him swearing throws her off more than the daggers he's glaring at her.

"I didn't!" She exclaims. "Where is this even coming from?!"

His body is almost quaking with rage, "I came in today to find Fandango in the locker room bragging about bedding you. Then sharing pictures of you in your freaking underwear with the whole locker room."

Her face falls, "Are you fucking ribbing me?"

"No, I am not freaking ribbing you," he insists. "I saw it and heard it myself."

"I'm going to kill him," she growls mostly to herself.

He continues his tirade, "I thought what we had going was a good thing. But if you want to bang other guys just let me know and we can end this now."

"For someone who isn't even my boyfriend you sure care an awful lot about who I am or am not fucking.. and spoiler, it's only you!" She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "You really think I would risk losing this? I've kept this secret from literally everyone. Even my best friend! I don't know what you think we had going on. But to me, this was an exclusive relationship. I haven't even thought about hooking up with anyone but you." She bites her lip trying to fight back the tears she knows are coming. "If you want to end this because some guy needs to tell stories to get himself over with the boys then so be it." By the end of that sentence tears are streaming down her cheeks.

"Is that what you think I want?" His tone is softer, less angry now. "The last thing I want is for this to be over. But I do want to know that this is an exclusive thing."

She sniffles, "I have never cheated on anyone. And even if I didn't think that this was an exclusive thing I wouldn't have slept with anyone else anyways. That's not the kind of person that I am."

He sighs, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat like that. I just don't want to think about you being with anyone else." He pulls her into his muscular arms. She buries her face in his chest trying to regain her composure. "If you don't have to go home before we fly to Ireland you should come spend a night at my place."

She pushes away to look him in the eye skeptically, "Really?"

"Yeah," he nods. "It would be nice to spend some time together without any obligations."

Swallowing hard she musters the courage to ask, "Is this your way of saying we're doing the boyfriend girlfriend thing?"

"I guess we could call it that." He smirks. " I'm not ready to go telling everyone in the locker room. But I'm warming up to that idea."

"I'm in no rush to tell anyone," she agrees. "I just want to enjoy what we've got here."

He kisses her head, "So you'll come home with me to Gainesville after the Augusta show?"

She nods excitedly, a grin slowly creeping across her face, "I'll drop the boys at the airport and tell them I'm going to Atlanta instead of flying home."

"Devious," he smirks. "Have fun doing Ride Along. I'll leave a key for you at the hotel desk." He gives her a quick kiss before sneaking out of the closet door.

She hangs out in the room a bit longer to keep their secret alive a bit longer. She dabs the corner of her shirt against her face trying to clean up her smudged makeup before shooting Dango a text telling him to meet her near catering. She slips out the door and heads back towards the smell of delicious hot food. Dango appears from across the room and strides across the floor to her.

"What's up?" He asks, already knowing what her answer will be.

"So.. Were you telling the locker room that we're sleeping together?" She begins.

He blushes, "I knew I should have texted you first. Sorry. Some of the guys were talking in the locker room and your name came up." She crosses her arms impatiently. "Someone mentioned that..."

"Who?" She demands before even knowing what he's going to say.

"Corbin," he sighs. "Corbin was telling people that he was planning to hook up with you. Because you're easy."

"Eww," she makes a disgusted face. "He's repulsive.

"I didn't think you'd be ok with him talking about you like that," Dango rationalizes. "So I told him you were taken."

"And you showed them pictures of me in my underwear?" She probes.

He opens his phone and shows her the picture in question. It's from the morning after the Friendsgiving party. When she had paused in the doorway of her room to flip him off he had snapped a quick picture. From the angle it was taken at it looks like she wearing only underwear and no bra. She admires the picture. Messy hair, smudged makeup and looking smoking hot.

She snorts, "That's actually a really good picture of me."

"Yeah it's pretty hot." He cracks the tiniest of smiles, "Sorry I didn't let you know sooner."

"No worries dude," she smiles. "You should totally post that on Instagram."

"Really?" He asks in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

She shrugs with a grin, "Fuck it. Do it! My ring gear is just as revealing as that."

"I'll put it up after the show." He tells her.

"Cool," she nods. "Don't forget we have Ride Along tonight."

He pauses on his way out of catering, "Dibs on driving."


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter gets a bit smutty. Hope you guys are still enjoying the ride :)**

"All set?" Ravyn asks the boys as come out from their locker room after the show. They nod and follow her out to where their black SUV full of cameras awaits. Tyler puts her bag in the trunk and holds the door open to the backseat for her before climbing into the passenger seat himself. Dango settles into the drivers seat and starts up the engine.

"Here we go," he says to no one in particular. "Augusta... The old Sand Trap Apple."

Ravyn snickers, "Almost five hours. This is going to be a riot."

The car starts to roll out of the lot. They pass through a crowd of fans at the exit. Tyler shoots them all a cocky grin as he stares at himself on the screen of his phone. The GPS guides them away from the arena and through some more populated areas of downtown Knoxville.

"Officer Breeze," Dango pipes up. "Roll down your window." Tyler looks at him skeptically but follows the instruction of his superior officer. "Sergeant Storm, if you would, please reach into my bag. Grab the black box and the ticket book." She reaches behind the seat and pulls out a square black cardboard box, maybe eight inches in size and the pad of fake tickets they had been using at shows. She hands them up to Dango carefully as he drives. "Breeze, write some tickets."

"For what?" Tyler questions.

"Anything, just take a look outside," Dango smiles. "This town is full of violators. And it's our job to clean up this cess pool." Tyler quickly scribbles a few tickets. "Now, open this."

Dango hands Tyler the black box. Tyler pops the tape from the edge of the package and slips his well manicured finger under the lid. Doing so reveals a red light. They type of light you'd see on top of an old timey police car. "Plug it in!" Dango says excitedly" Tyler follows the cord to a USB charger and pops in into the charging port of the center console. The light immediately lights up and begins flashing and spinning around like an official Police light.

The look of sheer joy illuminating Tyler's face is priceless. He holds the light out of the window and attaches it to the roof by its magnetic base. They pull up behind a random person walking down the sidewalk. Tyler leans out of the window waving a ticket. "Take this!" He demands of the stranger. Once the person takes the ticket Dango pulls back onto the road and speeds away. They repeat this multiple times on their way to the highway. When they hit the on ramp Tyler tucks the light back into its box and they settle into their drive.

The three of them chat as Dango drives. They talk about Ravyn and Tyler meeting in NXT after coming from the same trainer. Both of them had trained at the Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary. Ravyn had gone to train with Lance for a year and then met JJ at the school after Tyler had graduated. They drive for a few more hours before pulling off into a rest stop to switch drivers. Ravyn hops into the drivers seat eager to do something other than sit still. Dango lounges himself across the back seat and it doesn't take long into the drive before he starts to doze off. Ravyn and Tyler exchange mischievous looks. Ravyn guides the car to the shoulder of the highway taking the passenger side wheels over the rumble strips. At the same time she and Tyler yell as loud as they can while she jerks the wheel gently back onto the road. Dango awakes in a panic as he believes that they're all going to crash and die. Ravyn and Tyler cackle in the front seats and Dango tries to fight back the panic attack they caused. He slowly catches his breath and begins to regain his composure as Ravyn giggles maniacally while driving. Tyler keeps looking back over his shoulder to make sure Dango isn't going to kill them.

They arrive to their Augusta hotel shortly after 3 AM, exhausted and ready for sleep. Ravyn checks her phone to find the Internet going crazy over Dango's latest Instagram photo. She knows better than to read the comments at this point and just taps the "like" button. Once the boys have boarded the elevator she makes her way to the desk to retrieve AJ's room key.

She slips into his room to find him laying in bed watching a movie on the TV. She tosses her jacket onto the top of her bag and strips down to her underwear before climbing into bed with him. It doesn't take long before she has him completely distracted from the movie.

Ravyn hugs the boys goodbye at the Augusta airport the next night. Thankful for Sunday house shows having an early bell time. Once they disappear through the doors to the building she pulls out her phone and checks the address AJ had texted her. She plugs the location into the GPS and begins the two and a half hour drive to AJ's house.

Luck must be on her side as she doesn't hit any traffic and nears his house around midnight. The GPS announces her arrival at the address and she turns down the long shrub flanked driveway. As she pulls up to the Victorian style plantation house she sees AJ's silhouette waiting for her on the porch. Light streams from the windows, backlighting him in his leather jacket. Puffs of his hot breath float towards the sky in the almost freezing December night. He comes down the four steps to meet her at the car. He opens the car door for her and offers a hand to help her step out. His lips are on hers the moment her feet hit the pavement. His hand pushes the door shut before guiding her body back against the vehicle. She can't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Stop smiling," he says between kisses. "You're making it hard to kiss you." She wraps her arms inside his soft leather jacket and

breathes in a delicious mixture of smells. Leather, cologne and man. One of his hands is planted behind her head holding their lips together while the other yanks her luggage from the trunk of the rental. Expertly he guides her backwards up the porch steps and into the front door where he sets her bag on the floor. "I'll give you the tour in the morning. Right now I just want you all to myself."

Before she can say a word he hoists her up by the waist and plants her against the wall letting her wrap her legs around him. She works his jacket off over his muscular shoulders and let's it slip to the floor. He's hard at work removing her zip up hoodie and t-shirt. As she finishes pulling his shirt up over his head he starts down the hallway. His hands roam her bare flesh as they enter through the door to his bedroom. She looks into his eyes then nips at his neck, driving him absolutely wild. He sets her down gently on the bed, her hands at his belt buckle before he can even get there himself.

Stepping out of his pants he kicks them to the side. She pulls him down onto the bed on top of her. His fingers quickly unsnap the button of her jeans. She slides them down her legs and rolls on top of AJ. She smiles deviously as she sits up straddling his lap. His hands rest on her hips wanting more, but not rushing anything. She folds her body down over his, running her fingers up his bare chest. His body shudders under her touch. She brings her lips up to meet his, gently sucking on his bottom lip. A moan escapes her as his hands squeeze her ass while his hips buck up to meet hers. She dips her head down to gently flick her tongue over his nipple.

"Baby you're killing me," that delicious southern accent whispers breathily.

She looks up into his eyes as she does the exact same thing to the other nipple, smirking impishly. Finally having had enough of her teasing he flips her back over and takes charge. Their remaining clothing items are tossed aside hastily. Her nails rake up his back as their bodies intertwine. A wicked grin creeps across AJ's face as their session heats up. He slows to almost a complete stop, teasing her until she begs him for more. He chuckles to himself, enjoying the control he has over her before continuing. They lose themselves in the moment after not hooking up for a few days. Rhythm, pace and position change frequently. By the time they collapse next to each other they're both sweaty exhausted messes. His arm draped around her waist as they finally drift off to sleep.

The next morning Ravyn follows the delicious aroma of sizzling bacon to the kitchen. She watches from the doorway as AJ cooks eggs and bacon at the stove. She crosses her arms over her chest and takes the scene in, enjoying every minute detail. He's wearing TapOut shorts and a black tank top with his hair held back by a P1 baseball hat. As if he can feel her eyes on him he shoots a smile over his shoulder at her.

"Sit down," he nods his head towards the kitchen table. "Breakfast will be done in a minute or two."

"Can I do anything?" She offers.

"Nope, just sit your pretty little butt down and don't worry about a thing," he insists.

She slinks into a chair as he sets two plates of food down on the table. They eat quietly, just enjoying each other's company. When they're finished AJ takes their plates to the sink.

Ravyn stretches her arms high above her head. "So what are we doing today?" She asks innocently"

AJ smiles at her wearing one his of much too big for her t-shirts with the bottoms of her boy shorts peeking out from under the hem, "Hopefully nothing that involves wearing pants."

He gives her a tour of his house between make out sessions. Though they can barely keep their hands off of each other long enough to see anything. After squeezing in another round of sex then end up in AJ's arcade room.

"Do you have a Play Choice 10?" Ravyn asks in disbelief.

"I do," he nods. "And that Neo Geo cabinet has a master cart in it. It will play any Neo Geo game ever made."

The two of them spend a few hours being nerds together in the arcade before ordering some takeout for dinner. Later that evening Ravyn falls asleep with her head on AJ's chest just listening to his heartbeat.


	17. Chapter 17

Their plane touches down early Thursday morning in Dublin Ireland. Two tour buses await the Smackdown roster to take them to their destinations. The heels board one bus and the faces take the other. They're on their way to their first hotel shortly after boarding. While most of the roster tries to get some sleep before tonight's show Ravyn and JJ are too excited to sleep. They run into Becky in the lobby of the hotel renting a car. They sidle up on either side of her as she's finishing the rental paperwork.

"Whatcha doin?" JJ asks curiously.

"Rentin' a car for a few hours," the Lass Kicker's accent is easier to understand when they're surrounded by even thicker Irish accents.

Ravyn moves closer to Becky, "Where ya goin?"

Becky shifts on her feet nervously, "I'm going to visit some friends. Get a workout in maybe." Ravyn and JJ make their very best sad puppy dog faces until Becky relents. "Do you guys want to come?" They nod excitedly. "Sheesh, ok, go grab your bags and I'll bring the car round."

The girls run to grab their gear from their rooms and rush back to meet Becky out in front of the hotel. Becky starts their adventure with a quick tour of the surrounding area. Then they're on their way to a secret location. They pull into the parking lot of a beat up back alley warehouse. Becky hops out and grabs her bag, urging them to do the same. She leads them around a corner to a rusted metal doorway. They watch in silence as she turns the knob to the door set deep into the metal sided building. They follow her through the archway and are met with a wonderful sight. A wrestling ring. With barely enough space on the sides fore someone to walk by. Off to one side of the small space is a little room with a rack of free weights. In the ring a group of 3-4 students run through a match, their trainer standing on the outside with their back to the doorway. Becky leads them up to the trainer. He turns around before the girls reach him. Ravyn and JJ are shocked to see Finn Balor before them in this tiny gym in Dublin.

"Finn!?" Ravyn can barely believe her eyes.

He smirks, "The one and only."

JJ is equally perplexed, "What are you doing here?!"

Becky smiles, "Finn started my training. He still stops in to do some of the training here."

"Hunter has me recruiting for the UK Tournament next month too," Finn adds.

Finn explains the tournament to them. He and Ravyn exchange shoulder rehab updates then the girls go to get changed. They meet back up in the ring with Finn's group of students and jump right into running drills with them. Finn is hard on his students, but they're better because of it. Once they start to take bumps Ravyn rolls out of the ring to stand alongside Finn. They watch JJ work with Jordan Devlin, Finn's star student. Ravyn comments on how Jordan could pass for Finn's younger brother. Becky tags herself in by slapping JJ's shoulder as she get whipped into the corner. Ravyn notices her friend step between the ropes gingerly. Becky and Jordan finish up shortly after the tag. Ravyn walks over to meet JJ on the side of the apron.

"Hey friend," she says quietly. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," JJ tries to assure her.

Ravyn looks her friend up and down skeptically, "You sure? Because you don't look fine. You're moving pretty cautiously."

JJ hates when her friend can see through her facade, "My hip is sore. But it will be okay."

"Take it easy," Ravyn advises. "No need to kill yourself. This is going to be a travel heavy tour. Lots of buses and cramped quarters. Keep stretching so you don't stiffen up."

"Thanks mom," JJ jests. Ravyn just sticks her tongue out at the other woman.

The girls finish up with Finn and head back to the hotel just in time to catch the bus to the arena for that evenings show. Their first show in Ireland goes off without a hitch. The crowd is hot and loud all night. By the time the final bell rings Ravyn can't wait to get back to the hotel and start catching up on the jet lag. A quick text to AJ, who's only seated a few rows away from her on the bus, confirms that he will meet her in her room a bit later.

The next few days are a blur of activity. The entire roster bounces back and forth between signings, live events, travel, and other promotional appearances. Some of the superstars even have visits to local children's hospitals on their itinerary. Early Tuesday morning the crew arrives in London at Kings Cross train station. Buses pick them up from the station and bring them directly to the arena to prepare for Smackdown Live from the O2 in London.

Upon their arrival at the building Ravyn heads to the trainers room for a scheduled meeting with Doc. He executes a thorough exam of her shoulder. Checking range of motion, strength and stiffness.

"So what's the verdict?" Ravyn asks expecting the worst. Since arriving in the UK her shoulder had been stiffer than usual from all of the bus travel.

The head doctor flips through her paperwork before looking at her seriously, "Well... I'm not saying you should go out and work an Ironman or hardcore match. But I think you'll be fine to start taking some bumps again."

Her eyes light up, "Really?!"

He nods, "If you can start back slowly. Set a routine and keep training consistently I see no reason you can't be back in the ring by the Rumble."

"Doc," Ravyn beams. "This is the best news I've heard in a long time!"

Ravyn almost skips out of his office to the women's locker room. She's texting Tyler at the same time as she bursts through the door to the locker room. She spots JJ sitting on a bench with an ice pack on her hip.

"Friend... I know you're sore..." She pauses, hoping her friend is up for this. "But I need you to grab your gear and meet me in the ring." Ravyn grabs her kneepads and zips out of the room before JJ can ask any questions. Down the ramp and rolling into the ring she wastes no time pulling her kneepads on. JJ walks down the ramp with Tyler close behind her.

"J, I know you're in pain," she starts. "But you promised you'd be the first person back in the ring with me when I got cleared."

The statement doesn't click right away. "You got cleared!?" JJ exclaims when it finally hits her.

Ravyn just nods excitedly as JJ squeals and rolls into the ring to hug her best friend. Tyler steps between the ropes and joins in on the hug. "Now we can torture you with so many drills. Lance will be so proud," he smiles reminding the girls of where they all came from. "Really though. Glad you're back."

The three of them start to run drills and then start getting into more intense moves. Ravyn takes her first bump back like a champ. JJ smartly backs out and let's Tyler handle most of the difficult stuff, trying to protect her hip as much as possible. Sweaty, but happy, they all head back to get cleaned up before the show begins.

"Hey Ravyn, I need you for a vignette in an hour," Mark Carrano calls to her on her way towards the locker room.

She shoots him a smile and a thumbs up as she disappears through the doorway, intent on taking a hot shower. She ties her hair up to keep it out of the water as she lets the streams of hot liquid pelt her sore body. Once she's clean she puts on her Fashion Police gear then touches up her hair and makeup, having no idea what Carrano has in store for her. Satisfied with her appearance she leaves the locker room to try and hunt down the location of this vignette. She dips and weaves through the labyrinth of backstage hallways, desperately trying to figure out where to go.

She rounds a corner after passing catering for what feels like the fifth time and literally runs into AJ. Unlike the first time she had run into his chest full force this time she's met by a playful grin. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" His accent drips with amusement.

"Trying to find Carrano. He needs me for a pre-tape in half an hour," she explains. "Have you seen him?"

"Half and hour huh?" AJ looks around the hallways slyly.

She nods and before she can ask him if he knows where Carrano is again he's dragging her down the hallway by the wrist. Halfway down the hall he pulls her into a doorway. Inside the room is a couch, a wall full of wooden locker cubbies and a private bathroom. He clicks the lock on the door and pulls her body to his. Their lips meet sending butterflies cascading through Ravyn's stomach distracting her from what she had been doing completely. Their hands grope at each other as their desires take over. AJ spins her around and with no wasted movements has he bent over the arm of the couch. He flips the back of her skirt up and sags his tights just enough to start going at it hot and heavy. He buries one hand in her thick hair until her moans become too loud. Not wanting to get caught his hand moves from her hair to cover her mouth as their bodies continue to slam together.

Through muffled cries of pleasure her body shudders. Both of them raggedly take in short desperate breaths as they both reach their climax. His hands caress her body as they finally pull apart. Her legs weak and eyes filled with lust she kisses him once she regains her breath.

He chuckles, "You've got ten minutes to find Carrano."

"Shit," she cusses trying to straighten out her clothes. "I'll see you at the hotel later?" He nods and she takes off running out the door to find Carrano for the pre-tape.


	18. Chapter 18

**I noticed that this story has reached over 1,000 views! Thank you for that! Hopefully you're all still enjoying the story.**

Ravyn rushes through the backstage area trying desperately to find Mark Carrano. She finally spies him near the security checkpoint at the back entrance to the building. She skids to a stop in front of him, still out of breath from her quickie with AJ.

"There you are!" He gives her that creepy smile. "You ready?"

"Uhh..." She pauses, confused. "Yes?"

"Great, the camera crew just went over to the motel to set up. Tyler and Fandango are waiting on you with Charly in the parking garage," he points her in the direction of the door almost pushing her outside.

Utterly baffled she steps out into the underground parking garage. Charly Caruso stands outside of a black SUV bundled in a warm winter coat. She opens the back door for Ravyn to get in. Still unsure of the entire situation Ravyn slides into the back seat next to Tyler. She catches the eye of Dango as he looks at himself in the passenger side visor mirror.

"You really went all in for this shoot huh?" He keeps an eye on her in the reflective glass.

She looks around the vehicle nervously, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your hair and makeup," he turns around in the passenger seat to face her. Her blank look implores him to continue. "We're supposed to be filming a sexy scene for Smackdown tonight."

She shifts uncomfortably in the back seat. "Uhh... yeah. How does it look?"

"That is some really impressive sex hair," Tyler confirms.

She picks up on an inflection in his voice, but smiles anyways. She catches a glimpse of herself in Dango's visor mirror and sees just how haggard she looks. Her hair is a complete mess and her makeup is smeared around her eyes. As the car pulls into the motel parking lot she's suddenly unable to look away from an invisible wrinkle on her skirt. Dango opens the door for her when they come to a stop. Charly leads them into a secluded motel room where a film crew awaits. The writer gives them a quick rundown of the scene before complimenting her hair and makeup. Ravyn blushes and moments later finds herself in bed with Tyler, wearing significantly less clothing.

The crew films Ravyn and Tyler making out in the bed while Dango emerges from the steamy hotel bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. He smirks as he watches them grope and kiss each other. He strides across the floor pausing at the side of the bed.

"Fighting British crimes of fashion," he strokes his chin. "Should always end in crimes of passion." A devilish grin creeps onto his face as he slips into the bed on Ravyn's other side. She kisses Dango then turns her head back to kiss Tyler again just as someone yells "cut".

Back at the arena a few hours later as the show begins Ravyn sits watching on the monitor backstage. She jumps as the pyro explodes in the O2. JJ's music hits drawing Ravyn's attention back to the screen. Moments later Dolph flops down into the chair next to her.

"You're not going out there with her?" Ravyn asks him.

He shakes his head, "Nah, she's got this. I've got a match later I'm supposed to be preparing for."

She snorts, "And this is how you're choosing to prepare?"

"I need a favor," he's suddenly serious.

"Go on," she turns to give him her full attention.

He grins deviously, "Christmas is five days away. We'll be back in London. We've got the day off... I'd like to take her somewhere to celebrate. Any ideas?"

"Let me think about it," Ravyn smiles. "But don't be upset if she doesn't want to do anything strenuous. I know her hip has been bothering her."

"I know," his face falls. "But she's too stubborn to take any time off."

"That's a nice word for it," Ravyn smirks. "I'll get some ideas together for you. Give me a day or so."

"Thanks," Dolph smiles as he gets up to meet JJ at gorilla.

Ravyn continues watching the show. Tyler and Dango join her when they hit the halfway mark. They sit down just in time to watch their vignette. Ravyn shifts in her chair awkwardly when AJ sits down behind them as their segment airs.

"Man, we've got to get some new shtick," Dango says, much to Ravyn's relief.

Tyler nods, "I think this is verging on too far."

"Even for me," Dango confirms.

"Maybe we can try something new," Ravyn adds hopefully. "Like Law and Order or something."

"We can bring it to creative next week," Tyler suggests.

The tour continues through Wales and back into England . The entire roster travels together hitting various tourist destinations on the way. The highlight of the tour ends up being a visit to Stamford Bridge, the home of London's Chelsea Football Club. They even get jerseys customized with their names on the back. The tours final show takes place on Christmas Eve, then the buses take them back to London to enjoy a day off before flying home on the 26th.

After a late night arrival in London the night before, Christmas morning comes too early for Ravyn. She rolls over and puts her head on AJ's chest just listening to him breathe. Sleepily he wraps an arm around her shoulder. A knock at the door makes both of them jump. They exchange a brief look of terror in the dimly lit room.

"Who the hell is knocking on your door this early?" He whispers harshly.

"Fuck if I know," she says in a hushed voice as she rushes to the door to check the peephole. "Shit, it's JJ. I forgot about Christmas morning breakfast." Ravyn's mind races as she tries to figure out what to do. For the last nine years she and JJ have had breakfast together every Christmas. Sometimes they would cook and stay in. Other times they'd go out for a meal. She looks back to AJ who is pulling on his basketball shorts and tank top. "If you don't want us to be found out you'd better hide."

He gives her a quick kiss before grabbing his shoes and stepping into the closet and closing the door behind himself. Ravyn waits until he's stowed away before she opens the door for her best friend.

"Morning friend!" JJ smiles excitedly. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas," Ravyn hugs the redhead. "Sorry I overslept. Give me a few minutes and we can get out of here."

"No worries," JJ lets herself into the room carrying a medium sized box. She plops onto the couch while Ravyn rushes to get dressed. "What do we want to eat?"

Ravyn pops her head around the corner to look at JJ as she brushes her hair. "I need something with potatoes," she smirks.

"I swear, you are actually addicted to hash browns," JJ giggles.

"There's worse things to be addicted to," she reasons. As she pulls her NXT track jacket on she notices AJ's phone on the nightstand. "Alright, let's go eat!" Ravyn grabs a box wrapped in shiny silver paper and hurries JJ out the door.

The girls carry their wrapped packages down through the lobby and across the street to a cute cafe. They're seated almost immediately since the restaurant is quiet at this hour. The waitress brings them some water and takes their orders.

"Can you believe this is our tenth Christmas together?" JJ wonders aloud.

Ravyn shakes her head, "Can you believe we're spending out tenth Christmas together in London?"

"Man, we have come a long way since then," JJ reminisces.

"Do you remember our first Christmas together?" Ravyn asks.

JJ laughs, "Of course I do! How could I forget?"

"We had the best gifts for each other," Ravyn snorts.

"How did we both buy each other things from the same gas station?" JJ asks.

"Because it was the only place in a twenty mile radius to buy anything!" Ravyn howls with laughter.

JJ sips her water, "I still have the picture frame you got me. It's got our Storm Wrestling Academy graduation picture in it. Surrounded by those little maple leaves."

Ravyn grins, "And you got me that amazing travel mug that only died like a year ago. It kept my ramen hot for hours at the school."

"Speaking of keeping things warm," JJ reaches down and lifts up her package wrapped in black paper with glimmering silver snowflakes. "I think you may like this even more than you loved that mug."

"I don't know. That mug was a staple in my life for 8 years. Even if all the paint came off of it in the first 2 months," Ravyn laughs" she pics up her own nicely wrapped box and hands it over to JJ.

"It's your turn first this year," JJ beams handing her own parcel over.

She watches intently as Ravyn carefully slips a finger under the taped flap on the edge of the box. She slowly pops the tape and unwraps the package neatly, revealing a brown Dr. Marten shoe box. Ravyn's eyes light up with excitement as she tears the rest of the paper away. Giddy, she looks at JJ who nods, encouraging her to open the box up. Dark grey leather is the first thing she notices about the knee high boots. Her fingers trace the lines of the stitching.

"J, these are beautiful,"Ravyn exclaims.

"Dolph and I took a special trip to Camden Town to pick them out," JJ says triumphantly. "You can even fold down the sides. The Union Jack on the inside was the selling point for me."

Ravyn's fingers flip the soft leather over to see the blue, red and white flag emblazoned on the inside of the boots. Before she gets completely sucked in by JJ's thoughtful gift she hands her friend an identically sized box. The metallic silver paper shimmers in the light from the large windows. JJ wastes no time ripping the wrapping paper off, revealing an identical brown Dr. Marten box.

"I promise," Ravyn smirks. "I didn't get you the same thing. Open it up!"

JJ carefully raises the top of the boot box. She gently picks up a black shadow box. Inside the glass is a torn up Smackdown Live t-shirt, a two inch square piece of grey ring canvas and a photo of the Survivor Series Smackdown woman's team.

"I thought someone threw that shirt out!" JJ exclaims.

"Nah, I swiped it when you went to take a shower," Ravyn grins. "I know you like keepsakes from your big matches. And survivor Series was probably your biggest match yet!"

"This is amazing," JJ stares in awe at the box.

Their food arrives quickly and soon they're chatting between bites.

"You and Dolph doing anything for Christmas?" Ravyn asks innocently.

JJ swallows her mouthful of food, "No idea. My hip is killing me. And I'm dreading these 12 hours of flying we have tomorrow."

"Stay in and have a nice dinner then," Ravyn giggles, enjoying the chance to make JJ blush. "Maybe get some room service, fool around."


	19. Chapter 19

"Are you sure you want to go out tonight?" Ravyn asks with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "What if someone sees us?"

"It's Christmas night. People are spending time with their families," AJ pulls her close to him and kisses her neck. "Anyways, it's dark. And I have something nice planned."

The sincerity in his voice wrapped in that southern accent make her smile, "Okay, let's go then."

"Besides, I'll wear a disguise," AJ pulls a baseball cap with his logo embroidered on it onto his head.

"Hat, babe," she giggles. "That's just a hat."

AJ flashes her his handsomest grin, "Yeah, but it's a really nice hat."

She rolls her eyes and follows him out of the hotel room with a smile. They step into the elevator undetected by their coworkers. Somehow they make it through the lobby and out onto the street with no one noticing them. AJ hails a cab, whispers to the driver and soon they're on their way. Their cab winds through the streets of London. Crossing over Tower Bridge and passing Waterloo Station. They pull up to the base of the London Eye, the world tallest observation wheel, and AJ tips the driver. He leads her up past the small line of people waiting to board. The attendant checks their reservation and ushers them to a private waiting room. Sensing this is a bit unusual Ravyn keeps her mouth shut and observes. A few minutes later another uniformed attendant leads them to the boarding platform.

"Enjoy your evening Mr. Styles," the man says as he opens the door to the pod for them.

They step inside of the clear glass capsule. A bottle of champagne and chocolate truffles sit on the wooden bench in the center of the unit. The attendant closes the door and their rotation of the London Eye begins.

"I can't believe you did this," Ravyn almost glows with excitement.

She walks to the glass wall and looks out over the river Thames. AJ stands behind her wrapping his arms around her waist. The city lights up the dark sky as they slowly ascend through the London skyline. He steps away to pour them each a glass of champagne. They spend the next thirty minutes quietly enjoying each other's company while taking in breathtaking views of London in their own private pod. As they return to the ground AJ paces his hand along the small of her back guiding Ravyn out of the capsule. They step onto solid ground and start to make their way out towards the street.

Ravyn decides to be bold and reach for AJ's hand. He smiles a bit and squeezes her hand in return. When they reach the street Ravyn tenses up. Across the entrance of the line she spots JJ standing with Dolph. Time seems to slow to a crawl as Ravyn's eyes meet JJ's, resulting in the longest most awkward stare of their lives. She can tell immediately that JJ's upset. Her friend spins on her heel away from them and faces Dolph.

"Shit," Ravyn curses almost under her breath.

"What's wrong," concern sneaking into AJ's voice.

She reveals, "JJ definitely just saw us."

"You sure?" He asks, hoping she's wrong.

"Very," she assures him. "And she's pissed. Fuck."

He adjusts the baseball cap on his head, "So what do we do now?"

"Nothing," she murmurs. "I'll text her in the morning. Let's just try to enjoy the rest of the night."

The next morning Ravyn sits on the edge of AJ's hotel bed looking dejectedly at her phone. She had sent JJ a bunch of messages with no response from her best friend. Even an offer of brunch goes completely ignored.

"Give her some space," AJ suggests. "She'll probably be mad at you for a few days. But she'll come around."

"This sucks," Ravyn huffs. "She's never been this mad before."

"You've never giver her a reason to be this mad before," he assumes logically. "Come on. We've got to go catch the bus to the airport. Go get your bags."

"I'll see you in Orlando?" She stands up from the bed and slinks her arms around him.

"You will," he confirms. "And we've got an off day after Smackdown if you still want me to stay over."

That offer makes her smile, "I'd like that."

She stands on her toes to kiss him once more before flying back to the U.S. She sneaks from his room back to her own to retrieve her bags, then texts Tyler. She meets up with the boys in the lobby to board the bus. JJ is nowhere to be found so she climbs the steps into the tour bus and flops into the seat next to Tyler. He sees her looking crestfallen but doesn't pry. Minutes later they're on their way to the airport. The driver steers the large bus expertly through the small streets and the city's heavy traffic. It isn't until they're waiting to board at the gate that Tyler finally breaks the weird silence.

"Is everything ok?" He coaxes.

"Yeah," she whispers hoarsely. "J is mad at me because I'm a shitty friend."

He shoots her a quizzical look, "I highly doubt that you're a shitty friend."

"Well, I sure feel like one," she pouts.

"What happened?" He asks innocently.

"Long story," she begins. "I've been seeing someone. And I wouldn't tell her who it was. She has since found out by accident."

He shifts in the hard plastic airport chair to look at her, "Is that why you've been M-I-A so often?"

"Uhh," she struggles to come up with a response.

"You almost never come out with us anymore," Tyler sounds slightly hurt. "But everyone is entitled to their privacy. Even best friends."

Tyler's reassurance makes her feel only slightly better. Before long she's wedged between Tyler and Dango as the plane taxis down the runway. Once they're in the air she opens up her 3DS and starts a game with AJ' who's sitting in first class. After many hours of flying and a layover at JFK and they're finally on their way to Orlando. When the touch down Dango helps Ravyn secure the luggage while Tyler retrieves the car from long term parking.

As she drags her bag from the car and to her apartment she attempts to call JJ again. But when she gets no answer she hangs up instead of leaving another message. She settles down for the night and decides that she will apologize in person at Smackdown Live the next day instead of interrupting JJ and Dolph's evening.

Ravyn arrives to the arena with Tyler and Dango early the following afternoon for a women's division photo shoot. She hits hair and makeup before meeting up with the photographer to get a wardrobe assignment. The other Smackdown women are rotating in and out of the backdrop set up for them. The Valentines Day theme has each of them in super sexy red, pink or black dresses. Ravyn smiles at JJ who's clearly uncomfortable in the form fitting bright pink dress she'd been given to wear. JJ just turns away from her and sparks up a conversation with Becky.

When the shoot ends Ravyn hits the ring with Carmella before going to get changed into her Fashion Police gear. She fiddles with the fluffy leg tassels until she's completely satisfied by their volume. She receives a text from Dango letting her know that everyone is in catering going over their match for the evening and she heads there to meet them. She listens intently while American Alpha and Breezango discuss their quick segment for the evening. On the way back to the locker room she texts AJ to confirm that he's coming back to her place after the show. She smiles when he replies that he wouldn't miss it for the world.

The show begins an hour later. The Fashion Police wait in gorilla for the opening match participants to return from ringside. As soon as the program returns from commercial break Breezango's music plays. Ravyn struts out to the top of the ramp and pauses with Tyler's selfie stick. Dango leans in to check his hair on the phone screen, kisses her cheek then does and impressive high kick before starting them down to ringside. Tyler stands to her left with his right arm around her waist. She turns and plants her lips on his causing him to smirk cockily and tip his reflective glasses on his way down to ticket everyone in the front row. She saunters down to ringside behind them.

For the first time in months she rolls into the ring on live TV. Dango and Tyler wrap themselves around her seductively and pose for the cameras. American Alphas music elicits cheers from the Orlando crowd as the new champions make their way to the ring. The match itself barely gets started before it's over. Dango gets knocked to the outside, Tyler takes a double team maneuver and the match is over in less than five minutes. Ravyn helps her boys retreat up the ramp and back into gorilla where they discover an almost frantic looking JJ waiting for them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for all of the views, follows, favorites and reviews! Its awesome to hear people are still reading this!**

The girls stare at each other, neither one brave enough to say the first words. The awkwardness permeates the room and finally the boys take it upon themselves to handle the situation.

Tyler, pretending to be Ravyn, complete with terrible high pitch voice says, "Oh J, I'm soooo sorry. Won't you please forgive me?"

Not missing a beat Dango responds with an equally terrible JJ impression, "Yes! Of course! My life isn't the same without you friend!"

The boys finish up their ridiculous charade with an overly dramatic hug. The girls exchange a sheepish look.

"J, I'm sorry. I should have..." Ravyn is cut off by her friend.

"I get it... Sort of," JJ brushes away the apology. "I'm still upset that you lied to me about it. But right now... Well, right now we have another problem."

Panic starts to rise in Ravyn's throat, "What's wrong? Is everyone ok? Dolph?!"

JJ sighs, "Everyone's fine. For now."

The four of them leave gorilla, JJ's eyes scanning the hallways for someplace to continue their conversation. Tyler sends them down a secluded hallway away from the backstage hustle. The boys stay at the end of the hall to ensure that the girls get some privacy.

JJ lets out a nervous breath, "Corey is here."

Obviously not believing her friend Ravyn laughs, "Sure. Really though, what's wrong?"

"I'm being serious friend," JJ says sternly. "I just saw Corey in catering."

"Shit," Ravyn starts to fidget with anxiously. "What the hell is he doing here? I thought he was on RAW."

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's here to visit Corbin, then he'll be gone?" JJ rationalizes. "We'll figure it out though."

"Do... Do you think I need to say something to AJ?" She asks for her friends advice. "You're the only one that knows about me and him."

"I think you'll have to eventually. Especially if he's here to stay," JJ confirms Ravyn's fear. "You go hide out. I'll do some digging and see what I can find out."

Ravyn swallows harshly, "This is one of those nights where I'm really happy to be going home to my own bed and not having to sleep in a hotel."

JJ hugs her friend knowing everything she went through with Corey. They walk back to the corner where Tyler and Dango are waiting then part ways. JJ goes off to find Dolph while Ravyn heads back to the locker room to change. As she and the boys pass catering Ravyn sees him. For the first time in a long time she and Corey are in the same place at the same time. Any time she had visited NXT he was already at the announce table. Now here she is, seeing him up close and in person.

A flood of emotions hits her like a brick wall. He's sitting in catering with Baron Corbin. His neatly pressed button up shirt doing all the right things for his body. She forces herself to focus on literally anything else. But a few seconds later she can feel his eyes burning a hole through her. She glances up to confirm her suspicion. Their eyes meet and he shoots her a hauntingly sinister smile. She quickly tucks herself into into Tyler's arm and diverts any attention away from her ex.

She changes and hangs out in the women's room for the rest of the night. Trying to convince herself that everything is going to be ok. JJ eventually reports back that Corey is now doing commentary for 205 Live, which airs immediately following Smackdown on the WWE Network. She outwardly groans when she hears the news. When Smackdown comes to an end she meets Tyler and Dango in the garage, she stuffs herself into the back seat of Tyler's car.

"You doing okay?" His voice filled with concern. Tyler had been there for her after her disastrous breakup with Corey. He had listened to her cry and bandaged her wounds alongside JJ.

"As ok as I can be," she assures him, thankful to have him at her side.

Tyler gives her a stern look in the mirror, "If he fucks with you so help me..."

His protectiveness makes her smile. She's thankful for all of the friends she's made in this ridiculous business. She stays quiet in the back seat until the guys drop her off at her apartment. As soon as she gets inside she texts AJ to see how far away he is. He doesn't respond immediately, but a few minutes later he lets her know that he's parked. He grabs his bag and walks the short distance to her door where she's waiting for him.

"Sorry, I've been sitting in my car waiting for JJ and Dolph to go inside," he kisses her gently. "I didn't realize ya'll live so close."

Ravyn snorts, her spirits lifting immediately upon seeing AJ, "We shared an apartment for almost a decade. She ended up moving upstairs."

"Huh.. So are you guys talking yet?" He hopes.

"Yeah," she nods. "She's not happy. But I think we're on the same page again." She chooses to keep the issues with Corey to herself for now, hoping that nothing will come of the situation.

"Good to hear," he grins impishly before pulling her body to his.

His strong hands grip her waist playfully. He shoots a look around the small living room, surveying the layout. Their lips smash together roughly as he begins to make her forget about anyone else. He backs up slowly, guiding her along with him. His hads working her pants off as they cross the room. Her fingers slip into the waistband of his gym shorts and slide them over his hips before he sits down on the couch.

He pulls her onto his lap, her legs straddling his. Muscular arms wrap around her waist drawing their bodies closer. A husky groan escapes him as he buries his face into her neck. Her fingers wrap into his silky brown hair as he nips and kisses her neck. She can feel his excitement growing beneath her as she grinds her hips against his. Their lips meet again, she tugs his shirt up over his head greedily. Her hands roam his chest while his grip her waist tightly. His fingers toy with the hem of her tank top before pulling it over her head and smattering her chest with rough sloppy kisses. Their remaining garments get tosses aside as AJ proceeds to make her scream his name.

The next morning Ravyn jerks awake when she thinks she hears something. AJ groans at the peculiar noise in the apartment. She glances over at AJ, his eyes just barely open.

"Is there someone in your house?" He whispers uneasily.

Before she can answer they hear footsteps nearing the open bedroom door. "Morning friend" JJ pops her head into the doorway, instantly regretting that decision. The color drains from her face when she sees AJ's shirtless chest alongside Ravyn's blushing face. "Ohh.. Uhh.. Well this is awkward," JJ pauses. "Sooo... I'm gonna go. Uhh, just wanted to know if you wanted to go to the Performance Center later... You know, I'll just text you." JJ blushes and hastily exits the apartment.

"Sorry," Ravyn apologizes.

AJ snickers, "Don't be." He tosses the covers off and wanders to the bathroom.

A text from JJ appears on her phone moments later, "My bad friend. I didn't know!"

"No worries dude," Ravyn replies.

"Dolph and I are meeting Tyler the PC noon. Interested?" JJ continues.

Ravyn smiles to herself, "Possibly. I'll let you know."

AJ returns and leans on the door jam smirking, "So is this a common occurrence here?"

"She has a key," Ravyn nods blushing. "And to be fair she didn't know you'd be here."

"I thought for sure they would have heard you screaming my name all night," he only half jokes.

She shoots him a mischievous grin, "Well, get back in bed and we can make sure they know."

A few hours later Ravyn pulls into the Performance Center behind JJ and Dolph. The redhead hugs her friend excitedly.

"Did AJ decide not to come?" She sounds a little let down.

"He's coming," Ravyn assures her. "But since we're not exactly public, he's taking his own car. I don't think we're quite ready for people to know yet."

Tyler pulling into the parking lot halts their conversation. Greetings and hugs are exchanged all around and the group heads inside. Once the girls get behind the closed doors to the women's room Ravyn feels compelled to apologize again.

"Hey," she looks up from lacing her boot. "I really am sorry that I didn't say something sooner."

JJ is silent for an awkwardly long time, completely lost in in the laces of her own boot. "I mean.. I kinda get it," she pauses. "I just didn't like the fact that you lied to my face about me not knowing the guy, and it being a random hook up."

Ravyn sighs, knowing JJ is right, "That was shitty of me. I just wasn't sure how you'd react to it being him... I mean, the two of us don't exactly have the best history."

"Do you honestly think that I care about that shit?" JJ huffs. "Pasts are pasts. Hell, look who I'm dating! I just feel like you didn't trust me to know." JJ looks at her intently, but she's too embarrassed to respond. "I don't think I was so much angry as I was hurt. We've been through a lot together over the years and have never hidden anything from each other. And to learn that you hid something from me... Especially something that I could see makes you happy. I gotta admit, that stung. A lot. I guess I just didn't know how to react other than separate myself from it."

"I don't blame you at all. You've got every right to be upset. I shouldn't have been so shady about the whole thing. You're my best friend... and I definitely missed you when you weren't talking to me. No more secrets.. I promise.." Ravyn tugs her hair up into a ponytail, checking herself in the mirror. "At least not from you. The rest of the world... In not ready to be told that I'm only sleeping with the champ to further my career."

JJ smirks, "What? You don't want the Nikki Bella treatment?" JJ fusses with her hair and pushes her boobs way out, the way Nikki always seems to.

"Yeah, exactly what I'm trying to avoid," Ravyn giggles. "You, and I'm sure Dolph, are the only ones that know about me and AJ." She decides to attempt to mend their friendship a bit. "Maybe we could all go out for dinner tonight? Someplace quiet where we can avoid too much publicity?"

"Yeah," that sounds good JJ nods. "That is... If you're up for it after I kick your ass in the ring!"

"Ha!" Ravyn grins. "You're on!"


	21. Chapter 21

**If anyone is interested the song used in this chapter is "Saturday Night" by The Misfits. I specifically had the Michale Graves solo version in mind though. Enjoy :)**

The girls meet Tyler and Dolph in one of the many rings at the Performance Center and start stretching. Tyler leads them through the familiar Storm Wrestling Academy warmup drills. Ravyn catches AJ entering the building out of the corner of her eye, but stays focused on the exercise they're working through. The girls rotate in and out of the ring with the guys until a fifth body rolls into the ring with them.

"Hey guys, mind if I join ya?" Finn Balor's thick Irish accent almost bubbles.

"Of course!" JJ smiles. "Glad to see you're cleared to start training again."

"Just happy there's people to train with today," Finn beams. "With NXT on tour I feel like I've been running drills alone forever."

The five of them settle back into a routine, tagging in and out over and over. They each rotate through working with everyone, bumping and doing some chain wrestling. JJ tags Ravyn in to work with Finn while she catches her breath on the apron. Ravyn locks up with the Irishman and quickly works him into a headlock. He muscles his way out and shoots her to the ropes. The two of them have a bizarre chemistry that comes off as oddly sexual. Finn flirts through touch and domination while Ravyn, just happy to be back in the ring, is completely oblivious to his advances. AJ, however, has become completely distracted by the two in the ring. Before he can express his displeasure with Finn's closeness to his girlfriend. Tyler, sick of the display, blindly tags himself in sending Finn to the outside. He and Ravyn work around the ring doing their best to be as light as possible. He takes extra care to be gentle with her until she tags Dolph in.

Finally AJ decides to join their workout. Clearly annoyed by the attention Finn is showing Ravyn. As soon as they're in the ring together again AJ tags Finn out. For the first time in her career Ravyn stands across the ring from AJ. They lock up and begin chain wrestling. JJ and Dolph pick up on the electricity between the two of them but manage to hide their amusement. Finn tags Ravyn out and stands toe to toe with AJ. The awkwardness of the situation eventually fades and AJ, ever the professional, gently wrestles Finn into submission. He tags out and steps down from the apron, letting JJ and Dolph finish out the session. Ravyn's eyes follow AJ as he walks back towards the locker room. She can't help smiling when she realizes that he stepped in the ring with her to keep Finn away.

"Shit!" JJ exclaims as she hits the mat awkwardly.

"You ok friend?" Ravyn slips between the ropes to go to her side.

Dolph is there with her, checking on his girlfriend. "Yeah, I just landed more on my hip than my back," JJ explains.

"Can you stand?" Ravyn asks.

Ravyn and Dolph help her to her feet carefully. "You ok babe?"

"It hurts," JJ admits. "I'm fine. Everything's fine."

"You should check with the doc here before you do anything," Ravyn insists more than suggests.

JJ begins to protest until she sees the stern faces of her best friend and boyfriend staring back at her, "Fine."

Ravyn takes a shower while JJ meets with the doctor. She takes the quiet opportunity in the locker room to text AJ. "Mr. Styles, did I detect a hint of jealousy out there?"

"I'm the only one that gets to touch you like that," he fires back.

She smirks, "I didn't even notice until you stiffed him once or twice."

"I didn't stiff him. Just made him think about where his hands were that's all," she can almost hear the phrase in his beautiful accent.

"That's kind of a turn on actually," she flirts.

"Now we have something to look forward to when we get back to your place,"

"How are you feeling?" Ravyn asks her friend as she slides into the quiet corner both at their favorite local steakhouse.

JJ sighs, "Doc says I should rest it for a few weeks. He's getting in touch with Shane to let him know that I'm not cleared to wrestle for a few weeks."

"But you can still valet," Ravyn suggests. "Maybe we can do something with Zack since Mojo turned on him."

"Babe," Dolph looks at JJ and smiles. "Don't worry. We'll make it work."

"I just hate taking time off," JJ declares with frustration in her voice.

"Better to take the time off now than to risk missing Japan," AJ pipes in.

JJ turns to look at him, wanting to say something sassy but conceding, "You're probably right."

"I almost forgot that we're going to Japan!" Ravyn pauses her thought while the waitress takes their order. "Isn't this a duel brand tour? Raw is going too?"

"Yep," Dolph confirms. "Four shows then we come back home for the week before the Rumble."

"So... You're saying that both brands will be in Japan at the same time... Ravyn starts to smile. "Does this mean we get to see the Hoots!?"

AJ rolls his eyes dramatically, "I guess we won't have a choice."

Ravyn beams, "I love those guys."

"Then you can sit with them on the bus," AJ snorts.

They chat until their food arrives. They girls start by picking apart their starter salads. Ravyn removing all of the tomatoes from hers and JJ discarding all of her cucumbers. With no communication or prompting from one another they dump the unwanted vegetables onto a clean bread plate in the center of the table. Once they rid their salads of undesirables they each take what the other woman had disposed of. After depositing their newly acquired rewards to their own plates they turn to look at the guys, who are staring at them with stunned amusement.

"What?" The girls ask in unison.

"You two are weird," Dolph says what AJ is thinking.

Ravyn and Breezango arrive to the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri early the following Tuesday for the first Smackdown Live of 2017. JJ rushes up to them grinning like a fool as soon as she sees them walk in.

"We're finally working together today!" She beams. "Dolph pitched an idea and creative said we can try it! Go get dressed we have to go film!"

"What are you talking about?" Ravyn laughs at her friends enthusiasm.

"Just get dressed," JJ insists. "Meet us in the garage. We're going to film something awesome!"

Ravyn and the boys go change into their Fashion Police gear before meeting JJ, Dolph and Zack Ryder back at the garage. JJ hands Ravyn a piece of paper with an address scribbled on it. They climb back into their rental and follow the GPS to the location provided. The short drive just outside of the city takes them to what appears, at first glance, to be a ghost town. Ravyn starts to giggle as they pull into a dusty parking lot.

"She's brilliant," Ravyn laughs.

"Where are we?" Dango asks.

"I think J is going to help us get away from the super sexy stuff and work towards something else," Ravyn smiles.

"Cool," Tyler nods. "I mean I love kissing you and all, but it's a little awkward knowing you have a boyfriend now."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Dango looks back and forth from Tyler to Ravyn. "Since when?"

"Uhh..." Ravyn blushes. "It's been a few weeks."

"My bad dude. I didn't know," he apologizes.

Luckily JJ appears from the other car in the lot and ends the awkward exchange between them. She drags Ravyn away and into an old western style building. The four boys follow them in and meet with the film crew. They film a few scenes before heading back to the arena to watch Smackdown. With both Ravyn and JJ not cleared to wrestle their boys get the evening off. A few minutes into the show their first segment airs.

Breezango drag a protesting handcuffed Zack Ryder into the Police station of the ghost town. The guys toss him into a jail cell and lock the metal sliding door behind him.

"We've been after this one a long time, Breeze," Dango states.

"Well done Dango," Tyler tips his shades.

"Are you serious bro?" Zack asks in disbelief.

"Nice job boys," Ravyn stands up from behind the desk on the other side of the small room. "Smackdown will be a lot less hideous with this Uggo off the streets."

"Guys, let me out of here," Zack pleads shaking the steel bars.

"Not gonna happen... Bro," Dango mocks him. "You're gonna be in here a long time."

"Yeah a real long time!" Tyler confirms.

The scene out fades with a shot of Zack sitting down on the cot in the cell shaking his head in disbelief.

"That was funny," Heath Slater laughs as the show goes to commercial.

"It was alright," a familiar smarmy voice sends chills down Ravyn's spine. She turns to see Corey leaning against the wall near the door of the monitor room.

"Don't engage him," Tyler whispers in her ear as he puts his arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. "Focus on me. Once the show comes back on we'll leave."

It feels like forever before the show returns from commercial, Tyler nudges her to get up. As he takes her by the hand and tries to lead her from the room Corey steps between the two of them and the exit.

"It would be sweet if you responded to my tweets," his cocky smirk making her stomach churn.

Tyler shoves past him, "Fuck off Graves."

Corey sneers as Tyler leads Ravyn past him. He escorts Ravyn to the women's locker room. Once inside the safety of the steel doors she fishes her phone from her bag. Knowing that she'll regret it, she opens Twitter to find out what Corey had been talking about. It takes her a few minutes of thumbing through a few hundred notifications to find one from Corey. A lump rises in her throat as she reads silently. JJ enters the room to find Ravyn, paler than ever, staring at her phone.

"Hey, I just saw Tyler. You okay?" She asks already knowing the answer. "Corey is a douchebag."

"A douchebag who has apparently been tweeting at me for almost a week," Ravyn sputters.

"What do you mean?" JJ worries.

"He sent me these over the last few days," Ravyn hands her the phone.

JJ reads the tweets aloud. "I can remember when I saw her last. We were running around and having a blast," she pauses, moving on to the second one. "I was cruising without you, they were playing our song." JJ looks at her friend, "What even is this? He tagged you in these publicly too."

"Song lyrics," Ravyn explains shortly. "A Misfits song."

"I assume that it isn't a positive one," JJ shrugs.

Ravyn shakes her head, "Unless a song about a guy murdering his lover and confessing to the police is the new wave of positivity."

"Gonna go with no on that one," JJ tries to keep the look of terror off of her face. "Have you talked to AJ?"

"No," Ravyn swallows trying to keep her panic attack at bay. "I was hoping Corey would just leave the whole thing alone."

"Well that's clearly not going to happen," JJ says matter of factly. "So you need to come up with a way to tell AJ. Probably sooner than later."


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry for for the long delay! Hit a bit of writers block, but I think I'm getting over it. As always, thank you for you follows and comments! Hopefully it won't take so long for the next chapter to appear :)**

"He fucking did it again," Ravyn fumes four days later at a house show in Mobile, Alabama. "I can't believe he sent another fucking lyric."

Tyler scrolls through his phone to read the tweet in question, "Yeah, and this one isn't exactly PG either." He snickers, "Not that anything we've done in the last few months on TV has been PG."

She shoots him a glare as she reads the tweet for what seems like the thousandth time. "The backseat at the drive-in is so lonely without you." Another line from the same song as the first two tweets. Tyler stands up from his seat at catering before turning back towards the locker room.

"Come on vampire," he calls over his shoulder. "If we want to get to Lafayette before sunrise we've got hustle." She shakes her head at his silly joke and follows him to their bags in the locker rooms.

She texts JJ to let her know that they're driving through and she'll see her at Sunday's show. The almost four hour drive seems to fly by as she, Tyler and Dango power through the gulf coast. When they arrive at their hotel Ravyn does her usual routine of hanging back to leave a key for AJ. As she turns away from the desk she sees Tyler leaning against the wall a few feet away. His smirk tells her that he overheard some of her check in.

"So, this mystery boyfriend must be one of us if you're leaving him a key. At 2 AM at a random hotel in Louisiana," Tyler deduces.

She blushes, "You're on to me Sherlock."

He walks with her to the elevator. He pokes the button for the lift before questioning her further, "Are you going to tell me who it is? Or do I have to do some undercover work?"

She laughs, knowing he would never believe her, "AJ Styles."

Tyler snorts, "He's not even your type. Try again."

"Tyler," she looks at him seriously. "You're one of my best friends. JJ already knows and you can feel free to confirm with her. Just keep it quiet. I've got enough going on that I don't think going public with that is a good idea yet."

His face is clouded in what must be tons of thoughts spinning around in his head. As the door pops open on the elevator he just nods his head and says, "Cool."

"Really? That's it?" She can barely believe his nonchalant reaction. "Cool?"

"Listen," he stops and faces her. "I don't care who you're sleeping with. I just want you to be happy... But if he hurts you even half as bad as Corey did. I'll kill him."

She steps into his open arms and rests her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Ty," a sigh of relief escapes her at the thought of knowing how supportive her friends are of everything she does.

He walks her to her door and says goodnight before heading down the hallway to his own room. She lets herself in, dropping her coat and bag beside the dresser. She fishes a pair of shorts and a tank top out of her bag and gets changed. AJ arrives a few minutes later, a peculiar look on his face when he comes in from the hallway.

He sets his bag next to hers then comes right out and asks, "Is there something going on with you and Corey Graves?"

"No," she barely manages to sputter.

He looks at her quizzically, "Then why is he tweeting about you and the backseat of his car?"

She sighs, readying herself for potential disaster. "They're song lyrics," she explains. "He and I used to date. We were together for over a year."

"And he's still not over you? Or..." He runs his hand through his hair as he trails off.

"It was a really bad relationship," she tries to leave their conversation at that.

"So why is he bothering you now?" AJ wonders.

She swallows hard as she tries to fight the emotions tearing her apart, "Because he's a fucking psycho?" AJ doesn't say anything, but the look he gives her silently asks her to go on. She wrings the hem of her shirt in her hands as he watches her nervous reaction. "He's not a good dude. He almost ruined my friendship with JJ. After months of abuse.. Mental and physical, he cheated on me. He probably cheated on me countless times. But I was too stupid to realize what a terrible situation I was in."

"He hit you?" AJ's voice softens as he sinks down next to her on the bed.

She nods, "It only got physical one time. When I first found out he was cheating. That ended with him throwing me into a wall.

"Why didn't you have him arrested?" AJ's face fills with confusion.

"I was scared. I loved him," she tries to reason. "I was afraid of losing my job. There was no tolerance for drama in NXT." She looks down at the floor, trying to find a way to justify her mistake. "Once we broke up I almost never saw him. That relationship was the longest year of my life. And I'd understand if you didn't want to be involved with someone with such a shitty past," she adds sadly.

He laughs, not the reaction she had expected. "Do you really think my opinion of you is going to change because of who you used to date?" A look of amusement on his face.

She's almost annoyed by his positivity, "I was trying to give you an easy out. Corey is going to bring nothing but drama to my life. Like its his fucking job."

"Well, ignore him. Don't let him get under your skin," AJ advises pulling her closer to him. "You're mine now, so don't worry about him anymore."

Her lips meet his, gently at first, but passion quickly overtakes them. He's got her shirt off in just a few shorts breaths. Her nails drag lightly across the waist of his jeans before she unbuckles his belt, letting them fall to the floor. His fingers trace the bare flesh of her collarbone before gripping a fistful of her hair. A sharp squeak of pleasure escapes her as he nips at her neck where his fingers had just been. His free hand works her pants off and tosses them aside. She lays back on the bed pulling him on top of her. Their lips crash together again. She grabs his lower lip between her teeth gently willing him to be rougher with her.

A deep moan escapes him as he pins both of her arms above her head. His mouth trails up and down her torso kissing and gently biting. He smirks as he watches her body writhe under his touch, silently begging him for more. He teases her body with his own, letting parts of his flesh only touch her for seconds. Her back arches, trying to make contact with him in any way she can. He chuckles at her feeble attempts, enjoying the control he has over her. Finally she can take no more and breathily utters a plea for him to stop teasing her. The moment the words leave her lips he ends the torture. Their mouths crash together as he takes charge, allowing her the pleasures she so desired. Her body bucks to meet his, hands traveling up his muscular back. As the moment intensifies her nails dig into his warm flesh. Before she can break skin he pins her arms above her head again. He stifles her intensifying moans by capturing her mouth with his as they near their climax together.

Tuesday in New Orleans starts with Ravyn taking a stroll around the occult and voodoo shops near Bourbon Street. When she's finished browsing the macabre she heads to the arena. The boys were kind enough to bring her gear bag with them in the rental. She tips her Uber driver and heads through the security entrance at the back of the building. She pokes her head into production to check the cards. She's delighted to see her name alongside Breezango opposite Dolph, JJ and Zack. She seeks out JJ and the two of them squeal in delight at the thought of getting to work together on the main roster. Even if neither one of them are actually cleared to wrestle.

"This is going to be so much fun!" JJ beams.

"I can't wait," Ravyn nods excitedly. "If only we were allowed to take bumps, we could actually be in the match."

"Sorry friend," JJ assures her. "Don't you meet with Doc soon?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to see him today. Then we'll see what he thinks about a return date," she rotates her shoulder as if to show that she's feeling better. "It feels good. Bumping and training hasn't made it sore or anything. I'm hoping to be back by the Rumble."

"Or at least cleared so you can return the Tuesday after," JJ suggests with a grin.

Their conversation is interrupted by Mark Carrano. "Just the ladies I was looking for," he smiles.

"Hey Mark what's up?" JJ asks the head of talent relations.

"Well, we just got the go ahead to release the second season of Breaking Ground," he begins. "We're planning on a Network date of the 27th."

Ravyn does some quick mental math, "Two days before the Rumble."

He nods, "Correct. Any word on you being cleared?"

"Not yet," Ravyn pauses. "Going to see Doc after this."

"Good," Carrano glances at his clipboard. "Let's the three of us get together next week and go over some ideas for the future." He doesn't even give them a chance to answer before heading down the hallway.

"Let's hope creative has something for us once we're cleared," Ravyn says hopefully.

"Are you coming out with us tonight?" JJ changes the subject completely.

"I'll check to see what AJ is doing," she smirks. "But probably. I don't like to miss a night out in New Orleans."

Ravyn notices Dango around a corner and tells her friend that she'll meet her at the hotel after the show before running to catch up with him.


	23. Chapter 23

Ravyn and Breezango wait in the ring as Dolph and Zack make their way down the ramp accompanied by JJ. The crowd is hot for them, cheering like mad. JJ slides into the ring first and comes face to face with Ravyn. Ravyn slaps a ticket against her friend's chest as Dolph and Zack move in next to her. Tyler and Dango step up to Ravyn's side as JJ glances at her ticket.

"Harboring a fugitive?" JJ stifles a giggle. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Yeah, a fashion fugitive!" Dango booms.

"We take fashion violations very seriously around here!" Ravyn's hands move to her hips sassily.

Zack throws his hands in the air in disbelief. Tyler take this movement as a threat and immediately attacks him. The girls roll out of the ring as Tyler and Zack lock up. Zack fights back with a boot to Tyler's midsection. As the guys battle in the ring JJ cheers her boys on from the outside. Fed up with her friend's incessant positivity Ravyn marches around the apron and slaps another ticket against her chest. JJ looks down and peels the paper from her fingers. She reads it and then tears it up in Ravyn's face. Ravyn lunges for her, upset at the blatant disregard of her authority. The two girls grab and punch at each other but are quickly broken up by Tyler and Dolph. While the four of them are on the outside Zack manages to roll up a distracted Dango for the win. Ravyn and Tyler help Dango to the back while JJ and Dolph celebrate in the ring with Zack.

A few hours later JJ knocks on Ravyn's hotel room door. Ravyn steps out into the hallway dressed in a low cut leather trimmed corset top and a short black skirt. Knee high black leather boots with silver accents adorn her feet. Her black and teal hair curled into loose spirals cascade around her shoulders. JJ grins, admiring her friend's unique style.

"No AJ tonight?" JJ asks.

"Nope," Ravyn explains as they head down to the lobby to meet up with the boys. "He's got a press conference tonight for the Japan tour next week. He said if he gets out early he'll think about coming out. I don't think we're quite ready to be hanging out in public like that though."

JJ shrugs, "Fair enough. Sucks that he has to stay up late just to work though."

Ravyn nods, "It does. But we're going to be on our way to Japan this time next week. So it's probably important for him to do the media thing."

"You're right," JJ sighs. "I can't wait for you guys to be comfortable coming out with us."

"Girl," Ravyn snorts. "I don't even think he's told anyone about us. I've told you and Tyler, that's it. I doubt he's said anything to anyone."

The girls meet up with Tyler and Dolph in the lobby. The four of them climb into their awaiting Uber. The driver takes them down to Bourbon Street and drops them off. They pick up some drinks at one of the street side bars and begin to bar hop through the French Quarter. They dip into a few different clubs before finally settling in at one where Ravyn looks the most at home. The club is full of people dressed in rich dark colors and lots of black makeup. They lay claim to a booth in the corner and start people watching. The drinks flow and the conversation stays light and fun. The four friends laugh amongst themselves as the club seems to vibrate around them.

"I think this is the first place we've ever gone where I'm not the one who stands out," Ravyn snickers.

Tyler smirks, "I'm just glad I wore black tonight."

"I'm going to grab another round," Ravyn tells them as she slips out of the booth.

She weaves her way through the crowd of black vinyl and leather clad people. The packed club seems to be alive with energy. She squeezes between a group of people to get up next to the bar and order a drink for herself. The bartender walks away to prepare her beverage of choice, leaving her waiting at the end of the bar.

A finger gently caresses her bare left shoulder. "This is new," her blood runs cold when she hears Corey's voice and she freezes under his touch. "Did you really cover up my tattoo?" His finger tip traces the head of an exquisite raven along her shoulder blade covering where he had once given her an elaborate headstone tattoo.

She turns around slowly, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible, "Made it easier to not be reminded of you every time I looked in the mirror."

"Ouch," for a brief second he almost seems hurt by her snarky comment. "Let me buy your drink."

She shakes her head, but he manages to signal the bartender before she can pay. "What do you want Corey?" Frustration rising in her voice.

"I just want to talk," his smile, coupled with the alcohol somehow convinces her that talking with him isn't the worst idea ever. She takes her drink and, against her better judgement, follows him to a high top table along the dark wall of the club. They stand on opposite sides of the small table, she wraps her hand around the base of her pint glass and just looks at him. "I've missed you," his devilish good looks in the dim lighting catch her off guard.

"You're the one who cheated on me," she reminds him bluntly.

His eyes fall to the table, "I shouldn't have done that." It's not an apology, just a statement. He reaches out to brush his hand over hers. She tenses under the touch of his thumb on her flesh. "How's your shoulder healing up?" He changes the subject.

She takes a cautious sip from her drink, "It's getting better. Meeting with Doc again next week."

He smiles, reminding her of why she fell for him in the first place, "We should go out some time."

"Not happening," she snorts as she crashes back to reality.

"Come on," he attempts to coerce her with another gentle caress of his hand on hers. "It'll be like old times."

"It being like old times is exactly what I'm trying to avoid," she says sternly. "Besides, I've got a boyfriend."

"Who?" Corey half laughs. "Breeze? He's nothing compared to me." She rolls her eyes, not even justifying his comment with a response. The hand that had been so tender just moments before now grips her wrist harshly. She's paralyzed with fear as she looks up to meet Corey's icy gaze. "I'm going to remind you exactly what you're missing." He begins to step around the table but she dodges him. His grip on her wrist tightens painfully. He sneers at her attempt to avoid him. "Don't bother," he chuckles maliciously.

"Let go Corey," she wrenches her arm and manages to slip from his harsh grip. She turns to flee from him but is met with the strong chest of Baron Corbin.

"Hey baby, leaving so soon?" He cackles wickedly. He steps towards her and even in her tipsy state she understands that this is a threatening advancement. She ducks past him and doesn't look back. Even when she hears him call out to her, "But the fun is just getting started. We've got a room right down the street!"

The hairs on the back of her neck stand up amongst a freezing cold sweat as she hurries back to her friends. She struggles to fight off a panic attack as she weaves back through the crowd of people. JJ spots her first as she nears the table.

"Oh shit, is everything ok?" The redhead knows immediately that something is off.

Ravyn nods unconvincingly, "I'm gonna head back to the hotel. I'm not feeling well."

The three of them shoot her knowing looks. They can tell something is wrong, but they don't want to pry. "Let me take you back to the hotel," Tyler insists.

They bid a quick goodbye to JJ and Dolph as they leave the club. Luckily there are plenty of cabs awaiting fares. Tyler ushers her into the backseat of one before moving around to the drivers side and climbing in next to her. He gives the driver the name of their hotel and in moments they're on the way. Ravyn looks over at him. Without exchanging words he can see her distress. He reaches out and takes her hand. She gives it a squeeze, thankful to have one of her best friends by her side. They don't speak the entire cab ride. When they reach the hotel Ravyn hands the driver a wad of cash and slinks from the backseat. She heads inside with Tyler close behind her. Once they're in the safety of the elevator he pulls her into a tight hug.

"I'm not going to ask what's wrong," he pauses. "Because I know you'll tell me when you're ready."

She nods and whispers an almost silent, "Thank you."

He walks her to her door, making sure she's safely inside before returning to his own room. She can see AJ's sleeping form tucked under the covers in the pale glow of the TV. As stealthily as possible she sheds her clothes and crawls between the covers on the bed next to him. She snuggles herself up against his warm body, resting her head on his gently rising and falling chest. Just being close to him helps her start to calm down. Before long she's asleep.

"Babe... Babe wake up," AJ gently shakes her shoulders. Ravyn jerks awake gasping for air with ragged breaths. Her eyes dash around the room trying to make sense of what's going on. "You were thrashing. Like you were fighting a bear or something," his face a mixture of concern and exhaustion. "You okay?"

She nods, "Bad dream." He watches her in the dim light of the hotel room. Her heart beating almost out of her chest, breath staggered as she struggles to compose herself. "I'm sorry."

"Come here," he pulls her body close to him' her back up against his chest. His muscular arms wrap around her protectively. He nuzzles his face into her hair and breathes deeply. "You're safe here with me," he mumbles as he starts to drift back to sleep.

Her hands creep down his arms to wrap her fingers up with his. Within minutes he's asleep and holding her close to his person. She lays in his arms trying desperately to fall back asleep, but every time she closes her eyes Corey's face is there waiting for her. Sleep is the last thing on her mind as her thoughts race with the happenings of the evening. Sleep finally takes her a few hours later.


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry that updates seem to happen sporadically. Hope you guys are still enjoying this story! Thanks for all the views and reviews :)**

The next few days race by in a blur as the entire roster prepares for a quick four day tour of Japan. Ravyn, Tyler and Dango pull into the arena in San Diego before noon for the last Smackdown Live before they leave for Japan. Their bags are packed and ready for their red eye to Tokyo immediately following the show. After seeing Corey in the club the week before Ravyn continues to have the occasional nightmare. Though she hadn't woken AJ up since that first night. She also hadn't been getting as much sleep as she would have liked. She yawns as she drags her bag through the arena security checkpoint.

"Don't start yawning now," Dango yawns sympathetically. "We've got an eleven and a half hour flight to sleep on later."

"You mean you two will sleep on me," Tyler rolls his eyes.

"Aww, Ty, but you're our favorite pillow," Ravyn giggles.

Tyler pretends to grumble at them but ends up smiling at his friends. They head to the locker rooms to start getting ready for the show. Ravyn changes into her workout gear and sets off to find Doc. She winds through the hallways and finally finds him near the extra ring storage boxes. He leads her back to his office and begins a rigorous testing routine on her shoulder. He pokes, prods and has her do a few range of motion movements before adding some weights to the picture. She completes his testing and looks at him hopefully.

"Alright, it looks like we're all set here," he checks a couple of boxes on his clipboard.

"Sooo...?" She prods, eagerly awaiting the results. "What's the verdict?"

"Well," he pauses, going over the paperwork in front of him. He seems to be waiting just to make her sweat. A smirk confirms that he is, in fact, just toying with her. "You're clear. You can go back to work, officially. I'll get the paperwork on Vince's desk."

She squeals, "Thank you!"

Doc pushes her out the door so that he can meet with Vince. She quickly texts AJ on her way to the ring to do some training. He replies in moments congratulating her and telling her how happy he is for her. She starts to text Tyler, but stops when she sees that he's already in the ring. She rolls in and by the look on her face he can already tell that she's been cleared. After a brief celebration they set to work. He really puts her through her paces, making sure she's completely ready to step back into the ring and perform. As they're finishing up their workout JJ starts down the ramp. Ravyn meets her halfway.

JJ bubbles with excitement, "I'm cleared to start wrestling again tomorrow!"

Ravyn snorts, "Too bad tomorrow is a travel day. But that's cool that you're cleared for Japan!" Ravyn pauses letting some anticipation build. "Maybe we can have our first main roster match over there.."

"Yeah it would be really awesome to..." She looks at her friend as the realization of what she had just said sinks in. "Wait.. What did you just say?"

"Exactly what you think I said," Ravyn winks.

JJ and Ravyn squeal and jump around on the ramp like a bunch of excited school children. Tyler joins them in leaping about, unaware of their conversation. "Why are we so excited?" He asks obliviously.

Ravyn looks at him deviously, "Oh we're just going to figure out a way to have our first real match back in Japan."

Tyler chuckles, "You two are insane."

They return to the locker rooms to prepare for Smackdown Live. The girls don't bother changing into their gear as neither is actually booked on the show. Instead they shower and get dressed into nice clothes to have a meeting with Mark Carrano. Ravyn wears a close fitting little black dress with the Dr Marten boots that JJ had bought her for Christmas. The girls sit down across the temporary desk littered with paperwork.

"Welcome ladies," he greets them with a smile. They exchange hellos before he continues. "First and most importantly.. Congratulations. I hear that both of you have been cleared to return to the ring!"

"I was beginning to think this day would never come," Ravyn laughs.

"Well it's here now," Carrano confirms. "So I've got you both off of TV tonight. But next week we're going to have a women's number one contender match. The winner will get a shot at the Women's Title at the Royal Rumble. I think that you both deserve to be in that number one contender match. Let's see how Japan goes first." He pauses and shuffles some papers. "But what I really think is that a feud between the two of you could be our Wrestlemania ticket. With Breaking Ground Two going live on the network next week it will only add to the drama."

"We get to do a program together!?" JJ is nearly bursting with excitement.

"That's the current plan," Carrano chuckles. "You two work really well together. And the best way to get the crowd to buy into this feud is to get the best out of each of you."

Ravyn jumps in, "This feud has amazing potential if you'll let me be a truly dastardly heel. Especially knowing that Breaking Ground Two was filmed making us out to be best friends. I'll let that build the friendship, if you'll let me tear it to shreds."

"Oh man," JJ beams. "I have so many ideas right now."

"That's the spirit!" Carrano grins. "We'll get you guys back in the ring on this tour. Then the fun will really start next week on Smackdown."

The three of them discuss a few different options for the storyline. The girls leave his office smiling and bouncing ideas off of one another. JJ almost skips off down a hallways when she sees Dolph at the end of it. Ravyn texts Tyler to see what their airport plan is with a contented grin. She fires off a second text to AJ as she sits herself down on one of the many rolling storage trunks in the hallways. She looses herself in the phone for a few minutes checking emails and responding to a few fan tweets. She jumps when a hand caresses her bare thigh. When she sees that's it's AJ she immediately relaxes, a grin spreading across her face. He takes her by the hand and pulls her to her feet. He takes a moment to admire her five foot tall frame in her short form fitting dress. A quick glance down either direction of the hallway before he kisses her"

"Are you on the card tonight?" His southern drawl husky. She just shakes her head no. "Come on then." She follows him down a quiet hallway away from the congested backstage area. He dips around a corner and as she steps around to follow him he pushes her up against the cool bricks of the wall. His lips find hers as his hands travel down around her hips and grab her butt playfully. "I'm so proud of you.. And this dress looks amazing on you," he manages to say between kisses.

She moans softly, completely turned on by his ferocity. Her fingers trace up his bare chest between the panels of his leather vest before sinking down to the waist of his tights. Just as her fingers begin to slip into his waistband they hear voices coming from down the hallway. He reaches for the handle of the door next to them in the hallway. He almost chuckles when they discover that it's locked. He moves on to the next door and then another as they hear footsteps right around the corner. He twists the handle of yet another door and smirks, pulling her inside behind him as the door pushes open.

She doesn't even have the chance to take a deep breath before he has her backed up against the door. One of his hands wrapped deeply into her tick hair while the other hikes her tight little black dress up over her hips. Her excitement rises as the voices in the hallway seem to stop right outside the door behind her. They hear talking, but neither of them is paying enough attention to hear what's being said. He drops his tights and hoists her up against the door. She wraps her legs around him as they slowly begin to grind together. He has to cover her mouth with his hand to keep her from making enough noise to alert the people in the hallway of their hideaway. The conversation in the hallway seems to go on forever, not that either Ravyn or AJ even notice anymore. They're completely lost in their own world where no one exists but the two of them. Her teeth sink gently into the bare flesh on the palm of his hand. She's met with a smirk from him. His lips replace his hand as her fingers twist into his thick brown hair instead of clawing up his back like she'd really like to. Their tongues dance together as AJ's mouth muffles her cries of pleasure.

The voices in the hall fade away as he sets her down on a wobbly set of legs. She nearly stumbles as she goes to take a step. Luckily AJ reaches out to steady her with a strong arm. His cocky smirk makes her blush as she tries to compose herself. The two of them fix their clothes and give each other a once over to make sure they look presentable.

"Mr. Styles," Ravyn reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck and gives him a quick peck on the lips. "You're like a dream come true. And I can't wait to see Japan with you."

He returns her kiss, "You're going to love Japan."

"Get out of here," she smiles slapping his butt. "You've got a match to prepare for." He sneaks another quick kiss from her before turning the handle of the door. "Good luck," she whispers as he disappears from the room.

She kills some time by using her phone to check her makeup before leaving the room herself. As the show begins she lets herself slip down the hallway back towards the production crew. She stops to watch the monitor for a few minutes to see AJ in the ring cutting a promo with John Cena. As she heads to the locker room to get cleaned up a hand grabs her wrist from behind. She's spun around to come face to face with Corey. His body moves closer to hers, trapping her against the cold brick wall. She looks for an escape route, but finds Baron Corbin instead. His lips curl upward wickedly when he sees her fearful expression.

"You left so quickly last week," Corey reminds her. "You didn't even say goodbye."

"Fuck off Corey," she spits attempting to stand her ground. "I'm not interested in whatever you're offering."

He dips his head down next to hers, his nose softly brushing against her ear. He breathes in her scent and whispers menacingly just loud enough for her to hear, "You're so beautiful when you're terrified." She shudders under the caress of his fingers on her bare arm. Corbin shoves his shoulder hard making Corey sneer at his long haired friend. But Corey takes the hint and backs away from Ravyn. "See you next week, Babe," he almost cackles as he steps back.

Paralyzed by fear she can only watch as they disappear around a corner and out of sight. Only when she finds herself gasping for air does she realize that she had been holding her breath for a the entire time. People straggle by, lost too deep in their conversations or own business to even notice her leaning against the wall silently. She's trapped deep in her own nightmare until Tyler puts a hand on her arm. She jerks away from the sudden contact, snapping back to reality.

"You okay?" He asks worriedly as he recoils the hand he had touched her with.

Her eyes dart around nervously. She nods unconvincingly. "Yeah. I just need a minute. Had a run in with Corey,"she admits.

His face falls and he pulls her into his arms. He holds her tight as she tries valiantly to fight back sobs. Taking her hand in his he leads her to a quieter spot away from any potential gawkers. "Did he hurt you?" Tyler asks carefully. "Because if he did I'll kill him."

"He made unofficial threats. Just like last week," she explains as she tries to calm herself down. "I just want him to leave me alone. I even told him I had a boyfriend." She wipes a tear away from her face. As she slowly begins to compose herself she half chuckles, "Which, of course, he assumes is you."

Tyler smirks happy to see that she's recovering quickly, "Well, your man may be phenomenal... But he'll never be this... Gorgeous."

She rolls her eyes and slaps his chest playfully, "Come on, let's go to the airport."


	25. Chapter 25

**This chapter features another song. This one is the Michale Graves version of "Scream". Let me know what you guys think!**

Their plane to Tokyo is jam packed with superstars. Ravyn and Tyler find themselves in the center of a fours seat row between Chris Jericho and Dango. JJ and Dolph are seated in the row behind them. As the rest of the passengers board Ravyn checks her emails while the plane prepares for takeoff. She thumbs through a bunch of junk until she comes across a Twitter notification email. Hesitantly she taps the subject line 'Corey Graves mentioned you in a tweet.' Tyler reads over her shoulder when he feels her tense up. "A chill runs up your spine and crawls into your brain. The freezing touch of fear." He puts a hand on her arm in an attempt to comfort her. Moments later the flight attendant requests all electronics to be shut off for take off. She shoots him a look that indicates her urge to vomit. She glances back over she shoulder at JJ and Dolph. Her best friend leans forward to look at the tweet as Ravyn holds up her phone. JJ shakes her head in disgust and just mouths "I'm sorry friend." She sinks back into her seat letting Ravyn turn her phone off for the flight.

Once they're in the air the attendant comes around offering pillows and blankets. Dango and Tyler are asleep in the first hour of the flight. Try as she might though Ravyn just can't fall asleep. She looks around the cabin to see that nearly everyone is sleeping. The only one not obviously resting is Jericho sitting to her left. He taps away at the keyboard of his laptop while she stares blankly at the tv in the headrest of the seat front of her. She shifts in her chair trying to get comfortable.

"You doing okay kid?" Jericho pulls one of his earbuds out at looks over at her.

"Just having a hard time sleeping," she tries to sound normal and not like she's actually afraid to fall asleep and think about Corey.

"Want to listen to the new Fozzy single? It's not even officially released yet," he offers with a smile. She nods, as a fan of Fozzy's music she's eager to hear what the new album sounds like. He hands over his headphones and hits play for her. The opening bars suck her in, and as the song continues she finds herself nodding along. She looks at Jericho with a huge smile.

"Dude, this is a masterpiece," she declares.

He beams, "You like it?"

She nods excitedly. They share the set of earbuds and listen together a few more times. After the fifth or sixth play through Ravyn gets an idea. "Hey can I ask you a huge favor?" She hopes.

He looks at her skeptically, "Sure?"

"I've got a big heel turn coming up after the Rumble," she begins. "Any chance you'll let me use 'Judas' as my new entrance music?"

He's quiet for a minute, "Let me clear it with the band, and Vince, of course. But that could be great publicity for the album!"

The two chat excitedly until Jericho decides to try and get some sleep. Ravyn plays her 3DS for a while trying to avoid thinking about Corey and his ominous tweets to her. Eventually she falls asleep on Tyler's shoulder.

When they land in Tokyo it's Thursday morning. Tyler's birthday. The crew is ushered from the plane and deposited onto buses, which take them to the train station, where they begin the four hour ride to Osaka. A bus picks them up at the train station and drops them off at their Osaka hotel. Ravyn and AJ curl up on the bed in AJ's room and just lay together exhausted from all the travel.

After enjoying their brief down time Ravyn drags herself from the bed. She kisses AJ while he remains propped up against the headboard, "J and I are going to take Tyler out for his birthday before the show tonight. I'll see you at the arena later?"

AJ smirks, "Sounds good babe. Keep him occupied for a while. I think the boys have a little surprise planned for him."

She grins, "We'll try to keep him out for a bit so you guys have time to set up whatever you've got planned."

AJ gives her some advice on traversing the foreign country, handing her a map of the local area. She kisses him goodbye and heads out the door with her gear bag to meet up with Tyler and JJ. She leaves her bag with Dango, who has promised to bring her and Tyler's gear to the arena.

The three of them start by walking through the town near their hotel. They manage to navigate the bustling city fairly easily. A cute cafe catches their eye and they wander inside only to discover that it's actually a cat cafe! Taking the opportunity to enjoy Japan they order bizarre ice cream flavors and take a seat on some of the surrounding furniture. JJ opts for a cushy bean bag chair while Ravyn and Tyler sit on a small couch. Curious cats begin to investigate them and their ice cream.

"I never want to leave Japan," Ravyn beams as a black and white cat weaves between her feet.

JJ laughs, "We've only been here for 6 hours."

"But cats! And ice cream!" Ravyn demands. "And all the other neat things were going to do for Tyler's birthday!"

"Man, you guys are awesome," Tyler smiles. "This is already a cool birthday." He scratches the head of a tabby cat who has deposited himself in Tyler's lap, purring loudly. "What else do you guys have planned?"

The girls exchange mischievous smiles. "Oh, we've got some ideas," JJ assures him.

"You're going to love it," Ravyn giggles.

Tyler is given no choice but to accept their response. "So how is AJ handling the Corey situatin?" He changes the subject.

Ravyn shrugs, "He's asked a few questions, but I've left most of the details out."

"Was that tweet from yesterday another song lyric?" JJ asks.

"It was," Ravyn confirms. "Another Misfits song. He keeps using the songs that we always used to listen to together." She focuses on the cat by her side. "I don't know what he wants from me. I've told him I have a boyfriend. I've told him that I'm not interested . He's just being relentless."

"Like telling him no has worked so well in the past," Tyler rolls his eyes. "He cheated on you. He ruined almost every friendship you had."

"He hurt you," JJ adds. "That was some of the worst mental abuse I've ever seen. And then he got physical on top of it. He's bad news, and he can't be trusted."

"I'd be willing to bet that he's regretting ever letting you go," Tyler concludes. "I mean, obviously he's and idiot."

"I've heard that his new girl left him a few months ago," JJ continues. "If he keeps this up he's going to come knocking on the wrong door."

Tyler leans in close to Ravyn, "Have you been sleeping okay?"

Ravyn shakes her head, "Not really. " she fiddles with the spoon in her empty ice cream cup. "The nightmares came back after that night in New Orleans. I woke up AJ that night because I was thrashing."

"Did he say anything?" JJ wonders.

"Not really. Just asked if I was okay, then held me until he fell back asleep. That was his late night press conference," Ravyn recalls. "Whenever I close my eyes I see Corey's face. I can feel his hands around my throat." She absentmindedly rubs her neck. "I just go back to that day that I left him. He was so mad when I found out that he was cheating on me. His sneer. The fight between us. Crashing against the wall... His breath on my skin while he thought about doing it again. He got this look in his eyes... I can't even describe it..." Her friends stay quiet just letting her get it out. "It was like he wanted to feel bad, but he got more pleasure out of the control than anything else. His words stung like a bullwhip that day," she pauses. "No matter how much I kicked, punched and yelled he wouldn't stop." She continues her recollection of the memory. "But he didn't slam me into the wall again. He tried to kiss me. I turned my head to avoid him, and he was irate. He grabbed me by the front of my leather jacket and threw me through the glass coffee table." JJ's eyes go wide. She's about to interrupt but Tyler holds a finger up to stop her. Ravyn speaks again, "I've never told anyone about that. He was so fucking smart. He never put a hand on me physically until that day. And he barely left a mark on me. That jacket caught almost all of the glass. It was torn to shreds, I had to throw it out. I cut myself so many times trying to take it off.," she almost laughs uneasily.

JJ softly interjects, "He put you through the coffee table?"

Ravyn nods, "I thought I would take that story to my grave... He tried apologizing the moment the glass shattered. Kissing me and telling me how sorry he was. That it would never happen again... As soon as I caught my breath I left and never looked back.

Tyler slips an arm around her shoulders, "And we're really happy that you did. You're tough. But what he did to you physically is nothing compared to the emotional abuse he put you through."

"He's literally the worst human being in the world," JJ agrees. "The way he would guilt you any time we hung out. Pouting until you'd go back to his place. Or how he would buy you nice clothes that were always a size or two too small... His subtle way of implying that you needed to lose weight."

Tyler's eyes pop, "He did that!? You were absolutely tiny! Lean and muscular but tiny! You still are, for the record, but back in NXT you weren't nearly as muscular as you are now."

"It took a lot for me to realize that he was the crazy one and not me," she admits. "I was so hypnotized with NXT and how good our sex lives were that I couldn't even see how bad everything else had gotten."

"Well you're out of it now," JJ cracks a smile. "The past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it."

Ravyn smiles at her friend, "I'd like to think I learned from it. AJ is nothing like Corey."

"Exactly. You have a..." JJ smirks. "Phenomenal future ahead of you."

Tyler chuckles at the pun, "Was that just an inspirational Lion King quote?"

JJ blushes, "Shut up! You know it's my favorite movie. It's full of great life lessons." JJ stands up and takes everyone's empty ice cream cups to the trash. "Hey! Maybe we can push Corey off of a cliff into a stampeding herd of wildebeests!"

The three of them laugh at the thought, then get up to continue their Osaka adventure.


	26. Chapter 26

**Anyone one still reading? Thoughts? Love it or hate it your feedback is much appreciated!**

"Breeze!" A familiar voice calls from down the hallway at the arena in Osaka. "Breeze! Come here!" Xavier Woods calls again.

Tyler's head pivots between Ravyn and JJ who just shrug. They'd barely been in the arena for five minutes after their birthday adventure with Tyler. The girls exchange a smirk behind his back as they follow him down the hall. He steps into the room Woods is in and the girls poke their heads into the door.

"Breeze come play Street Fighter with me!" Woods demands excitedly.

"Cool!" Tyler sits down next to his friend in front of Woods' portable Playstation 4. "Are you filming Up Up Down Down?"

"Yeah, might even do some filming on a game hunt when we get back into Tokyo," Woods confirms.

"We just got back from a really cool arcade," Tyler tells him as the game starts up.

The boys chat about the arcade while the girls watch over their shoulders. While they're playing Dolph and Zack sneak out of the locker area behind them carrying two small round cakes. Some other superstars join them, watching silently. Zack steps up to Tyler's left and Dolph to his right.

"Look everyone it's Tyler!" Zack shouts as he and Dolph smash the two cakes into either side of Tyler's face. Tyler turns around slowly as the rest of the superstars shout "Happy Birthday!" Before breaking into a round of laughter. Kofi records the entire thing on a GoPro. Tyler swipes gobs of cake and frosting from his eyes and glares at the girls.

"You two set me up!" He declares, knowing that they had some part in this.

The girls just point and laugh at him. They're joined by Seth Rollins who had once caked Xavier Woods on Up Up Down Down's birthday. Tyler gets up and rushes at the three of them with cake covered fingers.

"Nooo!"Ravyn wails as the sugary mess streaks her face. JJ and Seth react similarly. They collapse into a heap giggling like mad. Tyler huffs while the rest of the locker room has a laugh at his expense. Ravyn drags herself to her feet and wraps her arms around his neck. "Happy birthday babe," she grins and gives him a quick peck on the cheek for the camera. She licks the sweet frosting from her lips and smirks, "Delicious AND Gorgeous."

Their friends slowly begin to disperse back to the actual locker rooms. Ravyn catches AJ's eye as he sneaks out into the hallway. They exchange quick smiles before going about their days. Ravyn leaves the room to go check in with Mark Carrano. He lets her know that they'll be doing variations of the same card for the entire Japan loop. She's delighted to learn that she and Breezango will get to wrestle JJ, Dolph and Zack for the next four nights. She practically skips out of the office to find her friends.

The first show goes off without a hitch. There's a minor mishap before the second show of the tour when the Total Divas crew gets in a car accident and almost misses the show. But JJ and the divas manage to get to the building in just enough time for JJ to make it to ringside and manage her boys. Ravyn and JJ both feel good in the ring, but are still glad that they have tag matches to ease themselves back into the mix. The third night of the tour the girls get to work almost the entire match in Korakuen Hall while the men fight outside. The crowd is super hot and loud for a Japanese audience. The girls get a great reaction while having a fairly basic match Ravyn gets as much cheap heat as she can, beginning the build up for their upcoming feud. Ravyn barely manages to squeak out the victory for her team to end the match. Once they're back through the curtain the girls squeal and hug each other.

"You two sure have come a long way," Road Dogg congratulates them. "Great job out there tonight. I'm proud of you girls."

The girls give him a huge hug while saying some heartfelt thank yous before heading back to get changed. They shower and start getting dressed when Ravyn starts cracking jokes.

"You gonna be able to make it back to the hotel okay tonight?" She giggles reminding JJ of the day before when she and the Total Divas cast almost missed the show.

"Ha. Ha," JJ rolls her eyes. "I think Dolph and I are staying in tonight. I'm saving my energy for Tokyo Disney tomorrow!"

"Well, you ARE a ride addict," Ravyn snorts. "I think you'll probably ride every single ride in that park six times."

"Luckily Zack is just as obsessed as I am," JJ sighs. "The rest of you jerks don't stand a chance of keeping up." She leans back in the steel chair and looks at her friend. "What are you guys doing tonight?"

Ravyn shrugs, "I think AJ is going to show me around Roppongi. Then who knows. Probably hanging out at the hotel."

"We'll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning then," JJ confirms before leaving to find Dolph.

Ravyn finishes up and heads to the bus that will take her back to the Tokyo Dome Hotel. She drops off her gear bag and meets AJ down in the lobby. A black baseball cap with his initials on the side pulled down snugly on his head. His smile when he sees her coming gives her butterflies. He hails them a taxi and they're on their way to Roppongi. AJ leads her by hand through some of the more interesting parts of the bustling area. Once they've had their fill of touristy night life they stop at a street side kabob cart before getting in a cab back to the Tokyo Dome Hotel. AJ stops to sign some autographs for a small, but growing, group of fans . Ravyn heads inside while munching on her kabob.

"What do you have there?" Karl Anderson asks appearing from around a corner. She just holds up the skewer of meat and veggies to show him. "Oh, got yourself a Roppongi K-bab?"

"A K-bab-bab-bab-bab?" Gallows pipes in over her other shoulder being silly. "I love a good Roppongi K-bab-bab."

"Where are you headed off to Hoot?" Karl asks her.

Before she can answer Gallows cuts in, "How about you come down to the hotel bar with me and Machine Gun Karl Brotherson here and have a couple drinks!"

Karl nods, "A little welcome to Japan!"

Ravyn shoots a sideways glance at AJ who just smirks and keeps signing for his fans. She shrugs and follows the good brothers to the bar. They sit down at a round table with a bunch of chairs around it. Ravyn sits next to Karl, Gallows on the other side of him. Gallows orders the first round and as they're waiting a guest arrives.

"How are you doing Hoots?" The smaller man asks.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Karl beams. "If it isn't Little Cute Hoot!" He stands up and hugs the guy tightly. "This is one of my best friends in the whole world! Rocky Romero." He explains to Ravyn.

Rocky and Ravyn introduce themselves to each other as Rocky takes a seat next to Gallows. The three of them easily pick up like they hadn't missed a day apart. Ravyn listens intently, laughing at Gallows and Anderson's Stone Cold voices. By the time the second round arrives AJ joins the table, sitting next to Ravyn.

"Hey there Phenomenal Hoot," Rocky grins.

"Rocky," AJ smiles. "How've you been? How's New Japan?"

"Great! Roppongi Vice has been a huge success in New Japan!" He tells them.

"What's Roppongi Vice?" Ravyn asks.

Gallows and Anderson exchange looks, knowing what's coming.

"Roppongi Vice stays up real late, drinking in hotels like weirdos... Then we go eat McGriddles from Japanese McDonalds SUPER early in the morning," Rocky jokes quoting his entrance music. "Roppongi Vice is the tag team I'm a part of with Trent Baretta."

Ravyn laughs, "He says this as we're sitting in a hotel drinking."

"Oh hell yeah!" Gallows booms in his Stone Cold voice.

Karl nods, "Too sweet me on that Hoots!"

The table exchanges Too Sweets then continues chatting and drinking. Gallows voices soon spread to the other guys. Even AJ gets in on doing the Stone Cold impersonations.

"Is it me? Is it only freakin me?" AJ laughs. "I caught myself out there tonight doing the Stone Cold voice." The boys laugh. "I was out there telling the crowd 'Shut up! Shut up!" AJ confesses.

"Gallows popped me so hard tonight I had to roll out and hide myself laughing," Karl admits.

"He really just likes to hear himself talk," Rocky explains to Ravyn.

"Oh I noticed," she snickers. "We've been on the same bus all tour."

"How did you get so lucky?" Rocky's voice drips with sarcasm.

"Because she's one of the boys!" Gallows shoots him a look. "Speaking of the bus. Phenomenal Hoot hasn't been angry with us all week."

"Yeah Uncle Allen," Karl turns to face him. "What's going on? You haven't been nearly as cranky as you usually are."

AJ rolls his eyes at their childish mockery, "Maybe you just haven't been as annoying this tour."

Rocky snorts, "That's just not possible."

"No, there's something different," Karl observes looking AJ up and down.

"Maybe Uncle Allen found a girlfriend," Gallows jokes.

Rocky and Karl join in his laughter. For the first time in their relationship Ravyn catches AJ blushing. She starts to smirk but turns her head so the boys don't see.

"Maybe I did," AJ half confesses.

Karl glares, "Bullshit Hoot. If you had a girlfriend you'd be just as miserable as us. Being here, far away from home. Not cheating on your girl so you spend your days jerking off instead."

AJ cracks a smile, "Maybe my girl isn't back home."

Now it's Ravyn's turn to blush.

"What are you saying Hoot?" Gallows questions. "Do you have a girl from Japan?"

"No you idiot," Rocky slaps his chest. "She's probably in WWE."

Like sharks smelling blood the three of them start hammering out questions at AJ in rapid succession. "Do we know her?" "Which show is she on?" "Is she a good sister?" The redneck voices take over. "Have you taken her to your property?" "Get a little somethin somethin?"

"You've met her once or twice," AJ confirms trying to hide his reddening cheeks.

Karl leans towards the table, "Come on Hoot, don't leave us hanging!"

"Wait..." Gallows starts smirking. "Can she be on my podcast?"

"No!" Rocky, Karl and AJ all yell in unison.

Gallows loots briefly crestfallen, "Well you guys are no fun."

"So who is it Uncle Allen?" Rocky asks again, ignoring Gallows attempt to plug his fake podcast.

"Maybe..." AJ takes his time formulating a response. "Maybe she's here at the table."

"Ha!" Gallows bursts. "There's no way that's a thing."

"She would eat you alive Hoot," Karl agrees. He shoots Ravyn a grin and smirks.

AJ slips an arm around Ravyn's shoulders. She scoots her chair closer to him and leans into his leather jacket clad chest. She looks up at the rest of the table and smiles sheepishly.

"Is this a shoot?" Karl asks seriously. Both Ravyn and AJ nod.

"Prove it," Gallows demands jokingly.

Without hesitation AJ's hand cups Ravyn's chin, tilts her face towards him and kisses her deeply. For a few moments they're completely lost in each other. Their tongues dance together eliciting cat calls from the boys. When they pull apart a few seconds later Gallows, Anderson and Rocky are just staring at them in awe.

"Well hot damn Hoot!" Karl breaks the silence with a chuckle.

Gallows makes a point of closing his gaping mouth which had fallen ajar when their kiss began, "Hoot, that was hot!"

Ravyn blushes a bit at their display. Kissing AJ in public floods her with a whole new wave of emotions.

Rocky laughs, "So what's a beautiful girl like her doing with an old man like you?"

AJ rolls his eyes before slipping into his Ric Flair impression, "Brother, Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park. But it's got the longest line! Woo!"

"Easy there Nature Hoot," Karl giggles. AJ shoots Ravyn a quick wink. "Why don't you go ahead and take... Punk Rock Princess Hoot back to your room. We wouldn't want to keep you two love birds."

AJ stands up from his chair and offers a hand to Ravyn. She gladly takes it. The two of them wave a quick goodbye before turning to leave the bar. As they near the exit they hear Karl say, "Rocky, they are definitely going over thirty minutes!"

AJ holds up a Too Sweet on their way out the door, earning a round of laughter and clinking glasses from the boys.


	27. Chapter 27

The final day in Japan goes by too quickly and before they know it the roster is back in Los Angeles for Smackdown Live. Ravyn and AJ have managed to keep Gallows and Gun quiet about their relationship. Though with them knowing a bit of weight feels like it's been lifted off of their shoulders.

Ravyn yawns as she sits down on one of the steel chairs in the large conference room where the production meeting is about to begin. JJ sinks down to her left, the rest of the women's roster surrounding the table with them. Mark Carrano enters the room and quickly gets everyone on board with the future direction of the Smackdown women's title. The meeting seems to drag on forever while some of the women plead for better storylines. Others, happy with their current slots, stay quiet but offer helpful advice for the division.

Vince and Hunter join the meeting as they start to discuss the number one contenders Battle Royal for tonight's show. Hunter can't help but smile when Ravyn and JJ get brought up. Vince listens to a few different pitches for the match but ultimately decides on one that makes Hunter beam with pride. The meeting wraps up soon after and the girls all head back to the locker room to start getting ready for the show. Ravyn sits on a wooden bench in a quiet part of the locker room where she had left her gear bag. A few minutes later JJ rolls her bag over and plops down next to her best friend.

"You ready for this?" JJ asks her.

Ravyn looks at her friend and smiles confidently, "Of course. We've waited our whole lives for this."

"This is going to be your first TV match since you got hurt," JJ continues.

Ravyn nods, "I think Japan was a good warm up for it. We got to work a lot over there. I'm so ready to do this."

JJ nods in agreement and starts fishing her gear out of her bag. Following suit Ravyn reaches for her bag to grab her gear and start getting dressed too. As she unzips the bag in front of her she gasps and jerks her hand away from the zipper. As if she had been bitten by a snake.

JJ looks at her like she's crazy, "What's wrong?" Carefully Ravyn reaches back to the bag and slips her finger inside, revealing a small origami flower. JJ recognizes it instantly. "Corey," she growls like an angry mama bear. The delicate flower, crafted from a chewing gum wrapper, dances across Ravyn's finger tips. JJ fumes at the thought of Corey coming into their locker room to hide the gift while they were in the meeting.

"I wish he would just go away," Ravyn almost whispers.

Seeing her best friend so obviously upset JJ's tone softens, "You okay friend?"

Ravyn nods, trying to fight back tears, "I was hoping we would get to have our match before he got here."

JJ places a hand on her friend's knee, "Let's get dressed and meet up with the rest of the girls. I think getting to work will help keep your mind off of that jerk."

Ravyn cracks a smile, hoping that the redhead is right.

For the first time in five months Ravyn stands behind the curtain in Gorilla getting ready to step out for a solo match. Tyler and Dango step to either side of her and grin.

"You ready?" Tyler asks, knowing the answer already.

She smiles, "I've never been so ready."

"Go get it girl!" Dango encourages her as their music hits.

As a surprise entrant in the battle royal she enters the arena last, to the shock of the crowd. There's a mixture of cheers and boos coming from the audience. Dango drinks in the attention while Tyler smirks cockily at her side. They tease a quick flirty kiss at the top of the ramp. She takes a long look at herself in Tyler's selfie stick and adjusts her colorful hair. A sultry grin to the camera and she's on her way down the ramp with the boys. The rest of the women glare at her. Knowing that one more competitor lessens their chances of a title shot. The bell rings and eight women collide.

Eva and Carmella get launched over the top rope almost immediately by JJ and Becky. Tyler and Dango point at them and laugh on the outside. The girls retreat up the ramp while the action in the ring continues. Ravyn locks up with Nattie in the center of the chaos. The two of them grapple into a corner where Tyler and Dango grab Nattie's ankles, giving Ravyn the advantage over the blonde woman. One of the referees on the floor sees the interference and banishes the boys from ringside. Ravyn is almost eliminated by Becky when she gets distracted by the boy's eviction. Luckily she manages to lock her leg around the bottom rope and slide back into the ring.

As she stands up she comes face to face with Nikki Bella. The crowd slowly starts to roar as the two of them exchange heated words. Nikki shoves Ravyn and the crowd explodes. Ravyn staggers back and smirks before hauling off and punching Nikki square in the face. The buzz in the arena is deafening as the two girls brawl all over the ring. Eliminations seem to happen left and right. Finally it comes down to Ravyn, JJ, Becky and Alexa. A few of the previously eliminated women remain at ringside selling their injuries. Alexa eliminates Becky, and as she turns around JJ clotheslines her over the top rope.

The crowd pops as JJ looks over her shoulder across the ring at her best friend. Ravyn smirks as the crowd roars at the thought of the fan favorite facing off with one of the most hated women in the company. The two women exchange looks that allow the already excited crowd to boil to a fever pitch. As Ravyn takes a step towards JJ, Maryse reaches into the ring under the bottom rope and grabs JJ's leg. Distracted by the blonde woman JJ grabs at her, giving Ravyn the opportunity to toss her over the top rope.

A stunned silence falls over the crowd for a split second until the fans realize what had just happened. The boos start almost immediately as Ravyn raises her hand in victory as the number one contender for the women's title. She revels in the reaction of the crowd as she makes her way back up the ramp. She steps back through the curtain to see JJ waiting for her. The girls hug each other tightly , thrilled to finally be starting a program together. Tyler hovers behind JJ waiting for his turn to congratulate Ravyn. When he gets his chance he pulls her into his arms and squeezes her proudly.

A single pair of hands begins to clap slowly, almost sarcastically. Ravyn, Tyler and JJ turn to find Corey leaning against the wall smugly. His sinister sneer sets all of them on edge. Tyler positions himself between Corey and the girls protectively.

"Your boyfriend can't keep me from congratulating you," Corey's lips curl into a wicked smirk. "You looked great out there tonight."

"Fuck. Off. Graves," Tyler growls with more anger than either of the girls had ever seen in him before.

"Relax Breeze, she'll be done with you soon enough." Corey chuckles and steps closer to the trio. "I hope you realize every time you've got her in bed though, she's thinking about me."

Tyler lunges at Corey and the girls barely manage to hold him back. Corey snickers malevolently and blows a kiss to Ravyn before slipping away down the hallway. Tyler's balled up fists of rage slowly start to uncurl as the threat diminishes.

"I'm going to walk you to your room tonight," Tyler informs Ravyn, not even giving her the option to refuse. "I don't trust that asshole."

"Thanks," Ravyn wraps her arms around him seeking the reassurance of his strong arms.

His demeanor is much less rigid once he's got her safely in his embrace. JJ rests a hand on her friend's shoulder. Tyler escorts the girls back to their locker room.

True to his word Tyler drops Ravyn off at her hotel room later that night. He waits until he hears the door click shut before heading down the hall to his own room. She flips on all of the lights and changes into short shorts and a tank top. She fishes her 3DS from her bag, settles down on the king size bed and loses herself in an intense game of Tetris. AJ strolls through the door half an hour later. He can't help but smile when he sees her. He leans his bag against the dresser and turns his phone screen towards her.

"Gallows wanted me to congratulate you on your win tonight," she smiles at the gesture. "But be warned. If they decide to put the belt on you he will expect you to pick up the tab at the bar!"

"That sounds like Big Hoot," she smirks as she shuts the screen of her 3DS sitting up against the wooden headboard.

He makes his way across the floor to the bed and crawls up over her. One of his hands brushes past her cheek and sinks its fingers into her long dark hair. Their lips meet tenderly at first.

"I guess it's my turn to congratulate you then," his voice husky as he kisses her again. Their kisses grow rougher as their excitement rises. His hand comes forward to cup her cheek before it travels down to her neck. His thumb brushes across the front of her throat. The rest of his fingers grip lightly around her neck as they had many times before.

Instead of leaning into him and playing along like usual, this time panic floods her body. Her eyes grow wide with fear as she feverishly starts to slap him away. She throws kicks and punches almost as if her life depends on it. Although AJ is in front of her all she can see is Corey's face.

"Whoa, whoa, Babe. What's wrong?" AJ's feet hit the floor as he backs off of the bed to give her space.

She almost leaps off of the other side of the huge hotel bed. AJ watches in a state of frightened shock as she desperately attempts to fight off a panic attack. Her distressed breathing soon turns to chocked back sobs as she tries not to cry.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she squeaks out in between ragged breaths.

Still baffled by her outburst he cautiously makes his way around the bed to her side. Hesitantly he reaches out and pulls her into his arms. "Shhh," he tries to quiet her sobs. "Tell me what's wrong." The southern drawl makes his voice seem even gentler and accepting.

He gives her a little space but keeps his arms wrapped around her. She hesitates at first, but soon the entire story spills from her lips. She explains all of her and Corey's past and the events that had transpired since his appearance at Smackdown Live. AJ does his best to console her while trying not to let anger overtake him. She can feel his body tense up any time she describes an interaction she's had with Corey lately. He brushes a lock of hair from her face and kisses her forehead as she finishes up her explanation. She sighs, finally able to catch her breath after crying in his arms.

"You ok?" He asks already knowing the answer.

She nods, not ready to risk attempting words. As they lay back in the bed Ravyn reaches for her phone to check some emails before bed. She's met with a Twitter notification email... from Corey. The words in front of her make her shake involuntarily. AJ takes the phone from her and reads the tweet out loud.

"It's driving me insane. Although you try to fight. Dragged from the silence where you hide."


	28. Chapter 28

"I don't know what any of that means, but I don't like it," AJ seethes pulling her closer to him. "I'm going to have words with him Saturday."

"Don't do that," Ravyn advises. "He will find a way to get you to hit him. And then you'll get fired. Besides, he doesn't even know about us. He still assumes I'm fucking Tyler. So you coming into the picture like that will definitely tell everyone that this is a thing."

"Would it be so bad for people to know about us?" He asks softly.

She's caught off guard by the thought of their relationship becoming public knowledge. They'd spent the last few months really only being together in hotel rooms or each other's homes. The idea that they could travel together and not have to hide from their coworkers was actually kind of appealing.

"Did you get a chance to watch Breaking Ground 2 yet?" JJ asks her best friend as they check into their hotel in San Antonio before that nights NXT Takeover event.

Ravyn shakes her head, "Not yet. Maybe we can binge watch together after the gym?"

"That sounds awesome friend!" JJ grins.

"AJ has a signing this afternoon until Takeover starts," Ravyn notes. "So you're welcome to come watch in our room. He has that big portable tv that attaches to his XBox."

"Yes! I'm so sick of trying to watch The Network on my phone," JJ squeals.

"See you in a couple of hours then!" Ravyn confirms.

The girls head off in opposite directions to their rooms to prepare for the gym. Ravyn rides up the elevator by herself excited to get a workout in with her friend. The elevator dings and the doors open up to a well decorated hallway. She finds their room and pops the keycard AJ had left for her into the door. She swings the heavy door open to find AJ sitting on the couch with his XBox on the small coffee table playing 2K17. The sight makes her smile, delighted that he's a part of her life. Even if they look like polar opposites on the outside they were fortunate to have found each other. She wheels her bag in and leans the handle against the closed door to an adjoining hotel room.

"Man I hate these weird attached rooms," she says more to herself than AJ.

"Me too," he concurs. "I tried to swap for a different room but the hotel is booked up this weekend."

"No biggie," she shrugs and sinks down onto the couch next to him. "There's probably not a free hotel room within thirty miles this weekend."

She watches AJ play XBox for a little while until he has to get ready for his appearance. She hits the gym for a quick workout before coming back to the hotel to meet up with JJ. She has the misfortune of sharing an elevator with Corey upon her arrival. Luckily he's on his best behavior since a few of their coworkers are on the car. Ravyn makes a point of avoiding eye contact with him and immersing herself in conversation with Alexa Bliss. Ravyn, Alexa and Corey all step off of the elevator onto the same floor. The girls head one way while Corey goes the other. Alexa keeps walking when Ravyn lets herself into her own room. As she's getting clean clothes out of her bag she hears the hallway door to the adjoining room close loudly. She mumbles something under her breath about sound proofing and goes to take a shower.

JJ arrives shortly after Ravyn gets out of the bathroom. The girls set AJ's XBox TV up on the coffee table in the room then sit together on the couch, firing up the first episode of Breaking Ground 2. The show takes them on a trip down memory lane. Their friendship is one of the main focuses of the show. Coming from training together at the Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary and getting signed to NXT at the same time gives them great chemistry on the behind the scene show. At the time that the show started filming the two girls still lived together, just months after Ravyn's breakup with Corey.

The saga takes them through losing Tyler to the main roster, and a good portion of the training they went through at the Performance Center. They become enthralled with watching their story unfold. So much so that they barely even stir when AJ opens the door to the hotel room. He strolls up to them huddled together on the couch. When he realizes that they haven't even registered his existence he breaks the silence.

"Have you two been watching this all day?" He asks in astonishment.

Ravyn nods, "I mean... we went to the gym. But this is the story of our lives! Come watch the last two episodes with us!"

JJ scoots over and pats the spot between them on the couch inviting AJ to join them. He shrugs and sits, relaxing between the two girls. By the end of the last episode the girls are on the verge of happy tears. Getting to watch their call up to the main roster has their emotions bubbling.

"And tomorrow we both have matches at the Royal Rumble," JJ says in awe.

"It's been a crazy five years," Ravyn confirms.

AJ checks a message on his phone, "Speaking of crazy. Gallows wants us to go out with a bunch of the main roster guys tonight."

JJ's phone buzzes, "Dolph just told me a bunch of guys are going out to a karaoke thing."

"That's the same thing Gallows was talking about," AJ confirms.

"Well, I'm going to go meet up with Dolph and head over to the party," JJ smiles. "I'll see you guys in a little bit."

They bid farewell to JJ and start getting ready themselves. "So I'll meet up with Tyler and see you there?" Ravyn suggests.

"Maybe we should just go together," AJ offers.

She looks at him skeptically, "You sure?"

Ravyn leads AJ into the karaoke bar, which has apparently been rented out for the entire company. The main roster guys are joined by NXT stars as they trickle in after Takeover. She spots Gallows and Anderson at a long table with a few empty seats left. Tyler walks in right behind them, joining them at the table. JJ and Dolph are seated at a table right behind them with a bunch of their other friends. The drinks start flowing immediately. A long line is already forming at the song request station. Jericho and Xavier Woods start off the evening with Ebony and Ivory. Food starts arriving sometime in the first hour of them being there. AJ rests his hand on Ravyn's thigh under the table, keeping their secret just a little bit longer. He notices Corey walk in before she does. She feels him tense up at the same time that Gallows notices a change in his demeanor.

AJ stands up and heads to the bar to grab another round of drinks to avoid any questions from his friends. He makes a point of 'accidentally' bumping into Corey on his way to an open spot at the bar. Corey apologizes and smiles at the champion. He catches Ravyn's eye as he crosses the floor on the way to Baron Corbin's table. Tyler puts his arm around her shoulders to distract her from the situation. Luckily Gallows and Anderson start telling ridiculous stories that commandeer all of their attention. It's not long before the redneck voices start up.

They lose track of what round they're on as more and more drinks appear at their table. Dolph shoots them a grin, letting them know that this next round was on him. Alcohol courses through them breeding bad decisions. Tyler gets up and wanders off returning just a few minutes later. He reaches a hand out to Ravyn asking her to join him.

The DJ announces their names as he drags her towards the stage. The opening chords of "With my Baby Tonight" play in the room full of wrestlers. Blushing like mad Ravyn tries to escape, but Tyler corners her on stage and forces a microphone into her hand. The pair of them sing the song while making eyes at JJ the entire time.

The crowd of their peers cheer wildly once they've finished. They lean on each other for stability to make it back to the table. AJ smiles at her as she sits back down next to him. Her hand reaches for his under the table. She gives it a squeeze letting him know that the song was for him.

A few songs go by before JJ takes the stage with Road Dogg. Not to be out done by someone else singing his song he and JJ perform a stunning rendition of "Something Gone Wrong." Ravyn and Tyler whoop and cheer for them as they sing the last few bars together in harmony. JJ returns to the neighboring table as Corey steps on stage. Ravyn doesn't notice at first, but the moment the first notes of the guitar play her head snaps back towards the front of the room. Dig up her Bones by The Misfits. Corey's voice seems to seek her out and force her eyes to lock onto him. As he begins to sing he singles her out in the crowd. His eyes never straying away from her.

"Anything is what she is. Anywhere is where she's from," his devious grin looks evil in the dim lighting of the bar. "Anytime is what she'll be. Anything as long as it's MINE."

He seems to emphasize that word. Mine. He breaks his eye contact with her to scan the room, not wanting to draw attention to his obsession with her.

"Hey, uh, Uncle Allen," Gallows whispers roughly, barely audible at the table. "Is it just me or is he singing that song to Princess Hoot here?"

Corey continues the song, averting his gaze from their table. "He's not making moves on your woman, is he Phenomenal Hoot?" Karl asks starting to get worked up.

AJ's teeth clench before he answers, "I think someone is overstepping their boundaries. If he's not careful I'll introduce him to my heaters."

"You just say the word Hoot," Gallows says. "And I'll give him a friendly reminder to keep his eyes to himself."

"Oh hell yeah," Karl's Stone Cold voice concurs.

The three of them exchange Too Sweets. Corey is quickly forgotten as yet another round of drinks appears in front of them. An hour or so later their evening comes to a close when Ravyn and AJ sneak away and catch a cab back to the hotel. In the elevator they can barely keep their hands off of each other. Her hands already traveling to his belt before they even make it to their floor. He pushes her up against the wall with his body and kisses her roughly, distracting her just long enough for the elevator to ding, signaling the arrival at their floor. They pull away from each other just long enough to get down the hall and unlock the door to their room.

Once inside Ravyn pushes AJ against the wall just inside the door as he fumbles for the light switch. Her hands work his shirt up over his head, quickly tossing it to the floor. A moan escapes him as her mouth kisses a trail down his chest. He takes this opportunity to regain control and starts backing her into the room. Their feet shuffle down the small hallway silently until they're next to the door of the attached room. Paper rustles beneath their feet. AJ bends down to grab the piece of paper off of the floor.

"That piece of shit," AJ growls.

"What is it?" Ravyn asks carefully, knowing he almost never cusses.

He turns the paper over to her and she reads it to herself. All it says is "I can't wait to hear you scream". The bottom of the page has a heart with Corey and Ravyn's initials inside with a pair of crudely drawn bones crossed underneath. The heart and crossbones they had always used when they were still together. She she crumples the paper and drops it to the floor, alcohol not really letting her process the final line from the latest series of tweets he had sent her.

A smug look overcomes AJ's brief anger. "I'll make sure he hears you scream," he promises.

He crashes their lips together before she has a chance to ask what he means. Though it only takes her a few seconds to figure it out for herself. Her shirt is yanked up over her head and tossed aside. A moment later her skirt is hiked up as AJ wedges a knee between her legs. Her hands go back the the belt that the had been so infatuated with on the elevator. He steps out of the worn denim as the pants fall to the floor. In one swift motion he hoists her up and leans her against the door to the other room. Her legs wrap around him as they slam into the door over and over again.

His breathing grows raspy and ragged fueled by anger and dominance. "She's never going to scream for you again you fucking prick!" He hollers through the door. Wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her up he brazenly opens their side of the adjoining doors. The other door, luckily, remains shut. AJ resumes pounding their bodies against the door making Ravyn scream his name. "That's right baby, tell him who you belong to," he encourages. Her nails rake up his back as she begs him for more, hoping Corey can hear everything.

The slamming of the door to the hallway from the other room confirms that he had heard every single moment. A cocky smirk breaks out on AJ's face as he carries her over to their bed to continue their romp.


	29. Chapter 29

**Just a quick chapter, hope you guys are still reading and enjoying!**

Sunlight peeks through the curtain the next morning slamming into the wall then dripping onto the bed. A messy tangle of bodies and bedsheets barely even stirs when the alarm goes off. Ravyn slaps at her phone, begging for it to just be quiet. AJ reaches out and pulls her close to his body.

"Good morning," he mumbles into her hair.

She buries her face into his chest and sighs, "Can't we just stay here all day?"

"Only if you want to miss your title shot," he chuckles. "But if I stay here I don't have to drop the title tonight. Maybe you're right, we should stay here."

"Ugh fine," she groans. "I need to get to the gym to chase this hangover off anyways."

"I'll catch you at the arena later then," he rubs her shoulder absentmindedly. "I'm doing Up Up Down Down later... You should come with me."

She raises her head to meet his gaze, "Really? What are you guys playing?"

AJ grins mischievously, "Mario Kart."

"Double Dash?" She asks excitedly.

"I think so," AJ laughs. "It's Woods' favorite."

"Mine too," she confirms. "I'll be there."

"We should start traveling together," he sort of blurts out.

She looks at him quizzically, "Well, I'll be looking for new riding partners after I turn heel next week. I probably won't be able to ride with Tyler and Dango anymore."

"Well, I'd like it if you'd ride with me," AJ admits. "As long as you don't mind that is."

She snickers, "That sounds awful. I want no part of it."

He pretends to be shocked and offended by her comment. She sticks her tongue out at him before rolling out of bed. She brushes her teeth and changes into gym clothes before kissing AJ goodbye. Grabbing her gear bag on the way out of the room she heads off to get in a quick workout before the pay per view.

"Did they decide who's going over in your match tonight?" Dango asks as he heads into the arena with Ravyn and Tyler later that night.

Production crews rush around them like mad setting up for the show. "Not yet," Ravyn tells him. "They've got some ideas, but nothing concrete yet." They wander past catering where she catches a glimpse of Corey chatting with Neville. "You guys are still coming to the ring with me tonight right?"

"Of course," Tyler confirms. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They boys leave her at the women's locker room where she heads in to get cleaned up from the gym. The first part of her day is a flurry of activity. She meets with Naomi and the writers to finalize any plans for their match. Then she spends a few minutes rolling around in the ring with Sasha and Bayley. As she's coming back from the ring a hand snakes around her waist.

"Hey babe," AJ greets her with a kiss. She looks around nervously. Still not quite sure how to process the public affection. He snickers at her unease, "It's ok. I'm heading over to meet up with Woods if you still want to come."

"I do!" She finally starts to relax a bit. "Let me grab a towel and some water and I'll be ready to destroy you guys."

A few minutes later she lets herself into the locker room where Xavier Woods has set up a Nintendo Game Cube and flatscreen TV. He and AJ are seated in front of the TV on some folding chairs. The small GoPro camera facing them from above the TV to film their reactions.

"Hey girl!" Woods calls to her. "Come to watch us play?"

She smiles innocently, "No, I came to beat the two of you."

Woods looks from her to the camera and back again, "Oh snap! Shots fired!"

Woods chats to the camera, doing a quick introduction for this episode of Superstar Savepoint. AJ stands up and offers her his chair like a gentleman grabbing another from a stack near the wall.

Ravyn this is your first time on Up Up Down Down officially," Woods says to the camera. "Are you familiar with the game we're playing?"

She nods, "I've played it a couple of times, sure."

AJ smirks, knowing that she's just toying with Woods. They choose their racers and select their bundle of tracks. The first race begins and the three of them slam on their accelerators. AJ manages to barely squeak out a victory over Woods who comes in a close second. They pause before they start their second of four races and that's when the trash talking begins.

"I thought you said this was your favorite Mario Kart," AJ laughs.

"It is," Woods and Ravyn answer at the same time.

"Then how come neither one of you are beating me?" He antagonizes.

Ravyn huffs, "If you want me to destroy you I will. I've just been going easy on you."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Woods looks at her as the next race begins. "Who exactly do you think you're going to destroy?"

"Both of you with that attitude," she snorts.

"Bring it on babe," AJ says mashing the A button.

Their karts whip around the pixelated race track. Woods and AJ battle back and forth for first place with Ravyn holding her own in a close third. As they round the last turn before the finish line Ravyn unleashes special moves from each of her drivers, knocking the guys out and zipping past them to win the race.

She smiles smugly, but says nothing.

"That was dumb luck," Woods reasons.

"Right," she rolls her eyes.

AJ taps a button, starting the third race, "Won't go so easy on ya this time."

"You won't have to go easy on me," she assures him. "I just needed a warmup race."

Once again the race starts up bringing the three of them to silence. The occasional angry cuss word escapes them when they get pelted by an item that causes them to drop in placings. Ravyn manages to fly by the boys again at the last moment, winning the third race. Woods grumbles about being beaten again.

"Nothing like Mario Kart to really test the strength of a relationship," AJ sighs.

"What!?" Woods looks at him in shock. "Did we just get an Up Up Down Down exclusive!?"

AJ smirks, "Maybe you did."

"Whoa. Whoa!" Woods exclaims hoping to get someone to offer up more information.

Ravyn blushes and cuts off his momentum, "Last race!"

The screen starts to count down and the three of them scramble for positions. AJ has the lead for the first lap, but Ravyn and Woods are hot on his heels. The second lap has all three of them leading small portions while the others assault them with red shells and other items. Near the end of the last lap Ravyn unleashes her triple red shells followed by the abuse of a golden mushroom. She throws her arms into the air, victorious.

"How did you beat me at my best, most favorite game?" Woods stares at the screen in complete shock.

"It's easy," she shrugs nonchalantly. "Paratroopa and either Toad or Toadette. They've got the best combination of special items. Triple red shells and a golden mushroom. Boom."

"But they aren't even that fast," he huffs.

She laughs, "Dont need to be the fastest when you've got homing missiles and speed boosters. You just have to drive smart and put yourself in the right position."

AJ puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close to him, kissing her temple, "I'm not even mad that I lost. That look on Woods' face is priceless."

The mouth agape look of astonishment on his face as he looks back and forth from the TV screen to Ravyn, "We should use this to our advantage."

"I usually save this sort of bet for the really important stuff," she admits.

Woods nods, "Good point. I'll keep this is mind."

Woods closes out the episode by giving everyone's Twitter and Instagram handles before reminding viewers to keep it tight. The three of them chat for a few minutes before breaking away to get ready for that nights show to begin. Ravyn meets JJ near Gorilla as the Pre-show begins. JJ's match with Maryse has been bumped to the first match of the actual show.


	30. Chapter 30

Ravyn watches JJ's match backstage alongside Dolph. The two of them jump at every blow between the two women. Eight excruciating minutes later they're hugging JJ as she comes through the curtain the winner of the match. The girls can't stop smiling as the next match begins. Tyler and Dango join them in preparation for Ravyn's shot at the women's title. Their celebration ends quickly when they hear the bell ring signaling the end of the second bout. The participants of the second match make their way back through the curtain looking pleased with their exhibition. The crowd goes quiet as the Titantron shows a video package for the Smackdown Women's title match. Naomi joins them in gorilla as the video wraps up. Seconds later Breezango's music plays over the arena sound system. Ravyn struts out to the top of the ramp and pauses, letting the moment sink in. Tyler comes around her left side with his selfie stick and smiles into the camera with her. Dango shows off with one of his super high karate kicks before leading them down the ramp. The crowd boos them, but they're not completely committed to hating the trio like they had been in the past.

Ravyn slides into the ring and poses with the boys, taking a long look out at the crowd. Their posses are less provocative that usual but just as sassy. The lights dim as Naomi makes her way to the ring. The match starts off swiftly when Ravyn jumps Naomi before the bell. The two women brawl back and forth all over the ring. Ravyn shoots Naomi to the ropes where Dango trips her. The referee runs to the ropes to give Dango a warning about interfering.

Ravyn uses the distraction as an opportunity to take a couple of closed fist cheap shots at the champion. When he turns around all he sees is Ravyn setting up and executing a fishermans suplex. She bridges up to get more leverage for the pin attempt, but only gets a two count. Naomi starts to fight back knocking Ravyn to her knees, much to the delight of the crowd. As Naomi runs to the ropes Tyler trips her, again. The official has had enough and kicks both Tyler and Dango out of the ringside area. While his back is turned kicking the boys out Ravyn reaches into her fluffy leg tassels and pulls out a foreign object. Just a simple set of brass knuckles she had tucked into her boot. She hits Naomi in the temple with it and tosses it outside of the ring before the referee can turn around. She dives onto Naomi for the pin.

The world seems to stop spinning as the ref counts to three seemingly in slow motion. The bell rings and she has to take a moment to pinch herself, making sure that this is all real. Her face displays a cunning look of satisfaction. When Breezango's music hits again she stands up confidently, the crowd enraged by the underhanded cheating. She yanks the blue and white title belt from the referee and holds it high above her head. The crowd is not happy about the outcome of the match, their boos confirm that. She stays in the ring just a few moments longer before retreating up the ramp with her prize.

Tyler is waiting for her the moment she steps through the curtain into gorilla. He picks her up and spins her around in a big bear hug. Dango wraps her arms around her as Tyler sets her down.

"Congratulations," Tyler beams proudly.

"Thank you," she says humbly. "I couldn't have done it without you guys."

They step into the backstage area to find JJ and Dolph waiting anxiously. "Friend! You did it!" JJ exclaims.

"My first WWE title," Ravyn can barely believe it herself. She stares down at the white leather and traces a finger over it lovingly.

When she looks up her eyes land on AJ smiling from the corner of the hall. Dressed in his ring gear even though his match is more than an hour away his smile sends a herd of butterflies through her stomach. He strides up to her and cups her chin, giving her a deep kiss in front of everyone. Her cheeks flush with color.

"I'm so proud of you," he tells her with a smile that melts her heart. He looks around the small space and smirks before whispering so only she can hear. "I think we should celebrate before my match," his southern accent even hotter when it's dripping with husky desire.

Her feet make up her mind for her as before she knows it she's following him to his private dressing room. The door barely has a chance to click behind them before their hands are all over each other. She reaches back to flip the lock on the door, smiles at him and puts her hands on his chest, gently pushing him backwards to the small couch in the back of the room. A cocky grin from AJ leads to a flurry of deepening kisses. She pushes him down onto the cushions and straddles his lap. Her hands reach around her back to unsnap the title belt, but AJ stops her.

"Let's keep that right there," he whispers breathily. He motions with his head to his own championship belt draped across the couch next to them. "We're both champions right now... And I think that's super sexy on you."

She just smirks and adjusts herself on his lap. They do their best to keep as quiet as they can in the crowded backstage area. Any time she starts to get too loud her muffles her excitement with his mouth. Their fingers greedily explore each other's bodies between caresses of the soft white leather and cool gold.

A loud bang on the door followed by a call of "AJ thirty minutes!" Sends them over the edge. Panting and sweaty the two of them scramble to adjust their gear and look presentable again. She brushes some of her smudged makeup from his cheek with a satisfied grin. He kisses her forehead and smiles a genuinely happy smile before grabbing his own title and snapping it on around his waist. She sneaks out of the locker room before him, not to arouse any suspicion of their antics. She rounds a corner backstage and catches the eye of one of the photographers.

"Ravyn!" The young man calls excitedly. "Can we take some new promo shots with the belt?"

"Please!" She nods excitedly.

He guides her in front of his backdrop and starts snapping away. He suggests a few typical championship poses before letting her do her own thing. As she tries to come up with something new AJ appears behind the photographer.

"Mind if I jump in there too?" He doesn't really ask as he steps in front of the camera with Ravyn. "You know, get a couple just for us."

"Of course," the kid stammers.

AJ hoists his belt over his shoulder and steps just behind Ravyn. Her belt slung over the opposite shoulder, he puts his free hand on her waist. They exchange a look and turn to the camera with sultry stares. He leans over her shoulder, his face just millimeters from hers, and kisses her lightly on the cheek. The photographer snaps away madly while they pose in a few different ways with the belts.

"AJ you're up next," Road Dogg calls from around the corner.

"Coming," AJ responds. He kisses Ravyn once more then smirks at the photographer, "Couldn't miss the chance to get some nice shots while we both have the belts. Can you email those to me?"

"Yes sir," he confirms excitedly.

AJ gives Ravyn's hand a quick squeeze before heading to gorilla. She makes her way to one of the backstage monitors to watch his match with John Cena. The crowd goes wild for both men's entrances. She watches intently, never taking her eyes off of the monitor. She can't help but be a bit sad when AJ loses to Cena. The short time when they were both champions makes her smile while she waits for him to come back through the curtain.

"I bet you think that little stunt last night was real funny," Corey's voice freezes her in place. She slowly turns to face him, his arms crossed angrily in front of his muscular chest. He glares daggers at her, enjoying watching her squirm, "This isn't over." He pauses as he hears staff congratulating AJ in gorilla just a few feet away. "What's done in the dark will be brought to the light." He takes a step away before AJ comes through the doorway. The cocky look on Corey's face disappears when AJ wraps his arm around Ravyn protectively.

"Do we have a problem here?" AJ doesn't really ask.

"Of course not," Corey plasters a slimy smile on his face as he back pedals from AJ towards the ring to commentate the next match.

"You okay?" AJ turns to face Ravyn, his face filled with concern. She nods her head. "I'm really getting sick of that jerk."

"You have no idea," Ravyn sighs. "Can we head to Corpus Christi tonight instead of staying here again?"

Sensing her unease AJ nods, "Sure, let's go grab the car and get out of here. We can probably beat the traffic if we leave now."

They both shower and change quickly, managing to get out of the arena just as Tye Dillenger enters the Rumble match at number ten. Luckily the highways are clear, allowing them to enjoy their first time really traveling together.


	31. Chapter 31

**When end this story is over, I've been thinking about going back and doing a Ravyn/Corey NXT prequel. Would anyone be interested in that? Anyways, Thanks for reading!**

"Sorry I disappeared last night," Ravyn says to Tyler and Dango as they walk down the hallway in the catacombs of the arena before Smackdown Live.

"So are you leaving us for good?" Dango asks.

She nods sadly, "After tonight's show I think I'll be traveling with AJ full time."

"Man, this sucks," Tyler huffs. "We were having so much fun."

"It's not like we'll never see each other again," Ravyn almost laughs. "We're still on the same show. We live ten minutes away from each other."

"Yeah but," Tyler pouts. "We won't get to be on TV together. And you won't be here to remind me to remind Dango to remember his gear when he inevitably loses it at every show. And you won't be here to navigate when he falls asleep."

"I'm not sleeping," Dango jumps in. "I'm just resting my eyes."

"Right," Ravyn and Tyler roll their eyes in unison.

"You guys will be too busy winning the tag titles to even have time to miss me," Ravyn assures them. "Fashion Police is going to take off and be the biggest thing of the year. Mark my word!" The three of them double check the card, meet with their opponents and then try to relax before the show begins.

Breezango opens the show with Ravyn at their side in a tag match against the Usos. Ravyn cheers on the boys from ringside. Dango tags Tyler in to help him double team Jey Uso. Ravyn stalks the ring apron looking bored, paying more attention to her shining title belt than the match itself. After taking a beating from the twins Tyler gets tagged out blindly. Dango steps between the ropes guns blazing as he goes for Jey. Tyler gets tossed to the outside at Ravyn's feet. She looks down at him smugly. He reaches up to her, begging for her assistance to help him stand. She takes his arm and slowly assists him back to his feet. Dango looks over to check on him just as Ravyn kicks Tyler in the gut and drives him to the floor with her double arm DDT finishing maneuver.

Dango rushes to the ropes, demanding to know what she thinks she's doing he starts to come through to the outside when Jey rolls him up to get the victory. Ravyn backs away from Tyler's downed figure slowly. A sinister smirk on her face signifying her heel turn. She drags a finger along the top of the belt around her waist before stepping through the curtain. .

Three days later Ravyn and AJ board a flight from Orlando to Philadelphia. The quick trip leaves them sore from being jostled around by some unexpected turbulence. She follows AJ to baggage claim and then to the rental car window. She assumes that the funny looks from the rental car agent are from seeing her and AJ together. She rolls her eyes and expects to see a tweet about it later. AJ finishes up the paperwork and leads them to their car.

Ravyn sinks into the soft passenger seat of the premium rental AJ reserved. She shoots him a grateful look as he starts up the car and gets them on the road to the arena for that evenings house show. Ravyn's phone rings just after they hit the highway. She smirks when she sees that it's Tyler.

"Hey Ty," she answers. "Miss me already?"

"Well, I mean, of course I do," he laughs nervously. "But that's not why I'm calling."

Her tone turns more serious, "What's up?"

"You... Haven't been on the Internet since you touched down have you?" Tyler sighs.

"Just got into our rental, straight from the plane," she confirms. "We're maybe twenty minutes from the arena. What's going on?"

"So, Corey is claiming that he got hacked," he pauses. "But there's a video... Of you... Of you guys..."

She knows immediately what he's implying. But she's not sure just how bad it will be. Her and Corey had made a lot of videos. Their sex lives had been filled with lust, passion and kink. So to her, the possibilities of what had actually been leaked seem endless.

"Awesome," she sighs sarcastically.

"I just thought you should hear it from a friend," Tyler concludes.

"I appreciate it," she admits. "We'll be there soon. Thanks for doing damage control."

"Well with JJ in Mexico, I'm here if you need me," he tells her.

She smiles, even though he can't see it, "Thanks dude." Tapping the end call button she looks over AJ and lets out a frustrated and embarrassed sigh.

"Everything ok?" He asks cautiously.

"Not really," she admits bluntly as she tries to process everything Tyler just told her. "Apparently there's a video..." She has to pause so she can choose her words carefully. "A private, leaked video, of Corey and I from when we were together."

AJ is quiet, making Ravyn nervous. "How bad is it?" He finally asks.

"I don't know," now it's her turn to be silent for a moment. "Corey was really into making movies, so it could be pretty bad. I haven't looked it up yet."

"You probably should. So we know what we're dealing with," he advises. "Do you think he leaked this or was it a legit hacking situation?"

"I'd like to think that he wouldn't put all that out there," she attempts to reason. "But I wouldn't put anything past him at this point."

They ride in silence for the next few minutes while AJ drives them to the arena. Ravyn doesn't have to look hard to find the video in question. Hesitant to watch it she waits until AJ guides the car in the underground lot attached to the arena.

"You're scared to watch it," AJ guesses as he puts the car into park. "Do you want me to let you watch it alone?"

She shakes her head, "Please, don't go."

He leans across the center console and kisses her head. A strong, but gentle hand on her thigh for reassurance and she gets up the nerve to hit play.

The video opens with a shot from the headboard of Corey's bed looking towards the foot. Corey is laying down shirtless with the camera just behind his head. Ravyn standing near the foot of the bed in a short plain skirt and a low cut T-shirt. He lifts a hand up and motions for her to come to him with a beckoning finger. She crawls up over him and straddles his lap. His hands reach out for her, gripping her waist. Her eyes locked on his, he lifts the hem of her shirt. He instructs her to take it off slowly. She follows his commands with a sultry stare. The shirt gets tossed to the side as it comes off over her head.

Corey's fingers explore her exposed flesh greedily. He tells her to shrug off the straps of her bra and she obliges. His hands grope her, getting rougher with his growing arousal. He yanks the rest of her bra down, exposing her breasts to him. He fondles her chest, pinching a nipple sending shockwaves through her body. He reaches a hand up to cup her face, letting a lingering thumb caress her cheek. His next motion is to grab her by the back of the neck and drag her body down on top of his violently. Their mouths crash together in a steamy make out session before the clip ends.

Ravyn lets out a huge sigh, mostly relieved, but still nervous to see AJ's reaction. "That could have been a lot worse," she admits.

"Yeah, that wasn't bad at all," AJ reassures her. "And you looked gorgeous, no one can deny that."

A grateful, happy, yet still embarrassed smile overcomes her, "You're too good for me."

He kisses her again then opens the car door. He grabs their bags from the trunk and leads them through the security checkpoint. As they round a corner they see Mark Carrano standing around looking impatient. "Thank god you're here," he says exasperated. "Come with me, we've got a lot to go over."

She nods a quick goodbye to AJ before following Carrano down a hallway to a conference room teaming with lawyers. She sits for a few hours answering questions while the legal team tries to put the proverbial fire out before it really gets going. She leaves the room feeling dejected and mentally exhausted. With the video making waves across the Internet the creative team decides to keep her off of tonight's show. She gets changed and heads to the ring to at least get in a workout before the show begins. Tyler and Dango are already there working out with The Usos for their match later. She rolls in and joins them, happy to have a few minutes not to think about the Internet and stupid Corey Graves.

She's feeling relieved as she walks back up the aisle with Tyler and Dango. Neither one had said a word about her situation, and she was grateful for that. The moment she sees AJ standing at the top of the aisle though, her stomach drops. The look on his face tells her that he does not have good news. Luckily he comes right out with it when they reach him, sparing her the anxiety of trying to figure it out herself.

"So, there's more videos."


	32. Chapter 32

"I feel like I should have seen that coming," Ravyn groans.

"And they're definitely worse than the last one," AJ informs her.

"You watched them?!" She tries not to freak out.

He shakes his head, "I did not. I just skimmed the comments."

Relief washes over her, but it only lasts a moment. She rushes past the guys to the locker room where her phone is waiting. Twitter and Instagram notifications almost overwhelm her. Three more videos join the one she had found earlier. Not knowing where to begin she clicks the link for the first one she sees.

Shes gasps as the video opens up with Corey holding the camera in front of himself looking down at the naked back of a woman. She recognizes the tiny bathroom as her own. She quickly realizes that he's standing behind her, slamming himself into her with a fist twisted into her rainbow locks. Corey switches the cameras view from staring at her back to catching a glimpse of their faces in the mirror above the sink that he's got her bent over. She cringes as she hears Corey demand that she beg him to continue. She taps the X in the corner of her browser, feeling like she's seen enough of that video.

AJ slips inside the small room to find her staring sadly at her phone. He doesn't say anything, just sits down next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. Even though he's sitting close to her he makes absolutely no attempt to look at what's happening on the screen. She timidly clicks the next video, holding her breath without even noticing. This time it's her and Corey in the backseat of his car. Her cute black dress hiked up around her waist as he holds her hips grinding on top of him. The clip is short, but shows enough to keep the scavengers and trolls busy.

She steals a look at AJ, expecting him to be disgusted and uncomfortable. Instead, his face is soft and understanding. The arm around her squeezes her shoulders tight then he rubs her back gently. "I hope you know that none of this changes how I feel about you," he assures her. "The past is the past. Don't worry too much about it."

"I'm afraid that this is going to ruin my career," she tells him quietly. "I just won the title. And this could jeopardize everything I've worked so hard for."

He cautiously makes a suggestion, "You should talk to Mickie James. She's still working, and she came from an actual porn career. I don't think you'll have to worry about it."

She nods, thankful for his insight, "I have a feeling this will all get worse before it gets better."

"It'll be okay babe," he assures her.

She hopes more than anything that he's right. The last video is a short one, luckily. But it's just as revealing as the others. Another handheld angle from Corey. He's wearing the NXT tag team championship belt and nothing else. He films at a downward angle as Ravyn goes down on him. He plays with her hair, alternating between touching her gently then being rough and forceful until he finishes and the video ends.

A frustrated sigh and a flurry of activity near the door grab their attention. Mark Carrano pokes his head inside and asks Ravyn to follow him. She does without question and soon finds herself sitting in more damage control meetings with lawyers and social media legal experts. She spends the entire show with the legal team, doing everything she can to try and fix the situation. Finally, she emerges from the conference room shortly after AJ's main event match has ended. She finds him in his locker room getting out of the shower. An encouraging smile from him helps her feel a bit better... Until her phone buzzes. She's soon alerted that another video has surfaced.

"Oh for fucks sake!" She fumes. "I get it! People apparently like to see me naked. How many more times are we going to do this!?" She yells to no one in particular.

AJ snickers at her outburst.

"Don't you dare laugh at me!" She chastises him. A second later she finds herself laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

He half chuckles, "How many videos are there?"

She sighs, overwhelmed by the whole day, "Too many."

A few more seconds pass and she finds herself laughing again. AJ can't help but join in, happy to see her at least smiling. Even if it is just nervous laughter. She takes a minute to regain her composure before deciding to watch the newest video. Numb from the events of the day she almost doesn't even react as she watches. This video is longer than the rest. Corey has her on his bed restrained with various methods while he completely dominates her body with his own. She stares, barely even registering what's happening on the screen in front of her.

"Come on," AJ touches her hair gently. "Let's get to DC while there's no traffic." He takes the phone and closes the browser in an attempt to make things even slightly better.

Two and a half hours later they're checking into their hotel just after midnight. She quickly sheds everything but her underwear and crawls into the king sized bed. After tossing his jacket and shirt aside AJ joins her. She sighs contently as she snuggles up to him. Her head resting on his muscular chest. She breathes in deeply, inhaling his manly musky smell. For the first time since landing in Philadelphia she starts to relax. He runs his fingers through her hair, just enjoying their closeness. She's starts to nod off on his strong chest when she hears a phone buzz on the end table next to the bed.

"Yours or mine?" She asks through a yawn.

He cranes his neck to look at the devices, "Yours."

She groans, "Who is it?"

AJ picks up her phone to see who the text is from. "Seth Rollins?" He says skeptically.

A lump rises in her throat. For a moment she's pretty sure that she's actually going to have a panic attack. She has to remind herself to breathe. AJ, sensing her feeling of dread, offers her the phone. She takes is hesitantly, assuming a text from Seth at one in the morning can only mean one thing. Opening the message confirms it. Another video has leaked. She groans outwardly.

"Everything okay?" AJ knows that it isn't.

"Another leak," she tells him. "But this one... is more than just me and Corey..."

He's quiet for a second, "Rollins?"

She nods, barely visible in the dim light of her cell phone, "Yeah..."

He takes the phone from her hand and puts it back on the end table. Rolling onto his side to face her he pulls her close to him. "Let's not worry about any of that tonight. There's nothing we can do to change it right now. Whatever happens happens and it's not going to change anything between us," his voice soft and caring, exactly what she needs after the day she's had.

Overwhelmed and exhausted by everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours they're both asleep surprisingly quickly.

The next morning is a blur. A phone call saying that Vince will be at the DC house show to meet with Ravyn gets everything started off on a bad foot. AJ takes the morning to get in a workout at the gym. Not quite ready to deal with the general public and wanting to be early for the meeting, Ravyn takes a cab to the arena. She drops her gear into an empty locker room with AJ's name taped to the door and heads off to get the lay of the land. She's relieved to see Tyler and Dango arrive as she locates Vince's office. She nervously does a walk by, thankful to see that it's empty. She stops to grab a bottle of water at catering and decides to go find Mark Carrano. As she rounds a corner she's stopped in her tracks by the sight of Seth Rollins. He's leaning awkwardly on a pair of metal crutches and staring into his phone screen. He looks up from the device and shoots her an apologetic smile.

She decides to grab the bull by the horns, "I guess you're here to meet with Vince too."

"I am," he nods. There's an uneasy silence as the two of them try to find something to say. He finally speaks after a few moments that feel like eons. "I'm really sorry all of this is happening. I never..."

She cuts him off, "Don't apologize. We were all in the video. We knew what could happen. We just didn't know where we would be if it did."

"We were drunk," he reasons. "We never expected it to go viral. I never even expected for anyone to see it besides us."

"Well, it's out there now," Ravyn shrugs. "Nothing we can do about it now but wait and see if it destroys our careers."

Seth sighs guiltily, "You'll be okay."

She puts a hand on his arm to let him know that she harbors no hard feelings. Neither one says anything more. Ravyn continues down the hallway killing time before their meeting. A text from Carrano pops up on her phone letting her know that Vince is ready. Not wanting to keep him waiting she hustles back to where his office is set up. She steps inside and shakes Vince's hand, he motions for her to take a seat. Seth is right behind her doing his best with his bad knee. He takes a seat next to her near the center of Vince's desk. Hunter and Carrano enter the room behind Seth sitting at two of the many chairs opposite Vince. Mere seconds later Corey steps through the doorway in a handsome dark grey suit. He smiles and shakes the hand of the higher ups before taking a seat on the far side of Seth.

The entire meeting is uncomfortable. Having her bosses sitting in the same room as two coworkers that she knows they've seen her sleep with on video has Ravyn an emotional mess. Luckily, for the three of them, Vince assures everyone that none of them are in any real trouble. Leaks happen unfortunately. Vince advises them to be more careful of where they save their private photos. Seth being hurt and Corey really only being on commentary have no real repercussions. While Ravyn is informed that they're going to keep her off of TV and live shows for a few weeks to avoid any potentially over enthusiastic crowds. The meeting ends fairly quickly, leaving the three of them free to hang out backstage for the rest of the day. Seth hobbled out on his crutches to go meet up with Dean and Renee.

Ravyn escapes the office as Corey stays to speak with Vince about some new commentary ideas. She wanders the halls head down staring at her phone. She texts AJ and Tyler to update them on the situation. Terrified that her coworkers will all hate her she avoids the more populated backstage areas. Lost deep in the process of texting and walking she comes to a quick halt as she almost bumps into someone. Goosebumps prickle her flesh. Before she can even look up she knows that it's Corey. His menacing smirk confirms her fears when she finally raises her head.

"The game has changed a bit now that the whole world knows just how great we were together," he laughs. Frozen in place she can't seem to escape the encounter. "I'd forgotten just how much fun I had sharing you with Seth," he smiles. "Maybe your boyfriend would be into that. If not we could always invite JJ to join us. Both of the hobbitses at the same time would be precious." Without thinking she hauls off and slaps him. The sound echoes down the concrete corridors. Instead of getting angry like she expects he just cackles. "You know you'll come crawling back to me eventually," he says cockily. "You can't handle sex with feelings. That cold heart of yours needs the kind of emotionless fucking I gave you."

"Fuck you Corey," she spits. "I know you're behind this whole leak somehow. And if this was your pathetic way to remind me of our relationship... All you've done is make me remember what a piece of shit you are.

Corey chuckles, unfazed by her retort, "Oh I can't wait to get you back in my bed. You were always the most fun when you were all worked up like this."

Seething with rage she pushes past him and heads to AJ's locker room.


	33. Chapter 33

Ravyn rips the door to the locker room open, relieved to see that AJ hasn't arrived yet. She paces the floor of the small rooms few times, just repeating her interaction with Corey. Was everything he said true? Did she run from emotion like he claimed? She sinks onto the cold wooden bench in the center of the room. Burying her face in her hands, she does her best to hold back a frustrated scream. Against her better judgement she searches for the video of the most recent leak.

The moment the video begins to play she's taken back to that day. Seth had come back to NXT for an autograph signing and a live event appearance. She and Corey had been together almost a year. The three of them caught up after the show with some beers in the locker room. That lead to much more drinking. They snuck off to one of the many empty offices at Full Sail University as the film crew closed down the set.

Corey turns his camera on as he tells Ravyn to kiss Seth. She visibly hesitates, but ultimately does what Corey asks of her. Corey films while Ravyn and Seth make out and sloppily grope at each other. Corey's hand reaches into frame to tug Ravyn's tank top down around her midsection. Seth yanks his own shirt off over his head and drops it at their feet. Corey pushes them towards the black leather couch against the wall of the office.

The camera fumbles as Corey hands it off to Seth. Corey's hand immediately wraps into Ravyn's thick hair, yanking her towards him. Their lips crash together while his hands shed her remaining clothing. He's much rougher with her than Seth, which only seems to turn all of them on. Seth sets the camera down on top of the desk just across the room and then returns to the couch. Corey has stripped down and grabs at his girlfriend hungrily. He guides her head towards Seth's crotch while he kneels behind her. The three of them are all over the couch, changing positions multiple times before the camera cuts out seven or eight minutes later.

She stares at the phone in her hand for a long time. The screen goes black as she continues to try and process what she had just watched. The video that the whole world and all of her coworkers now have access too. Tears stream down her face as she sits frozen in the lonely cold locker room. Feeling filthy after watching herself on camera she grabs a towel from a neatly stacked pile at the end of the bench and heads to the shower. Thankful for AJ's private locker room she cranks the water up as hot as her pale skin can tolerate. The scalding water pelts her flesh as her mind runs the gauntlet of emotions. She can't stop the flood of tears. Sinking to the floor she sobs sitting alone in the shower.

Having lost complete track of time she jumps when she hears AJ's concerned voice calling into the shower area, "Babe? You okay?"

She does her best to answer him while trying to compose herself. "Yeah," her voice wavers.

AJ pokes his head into the large open shower area. He scans the tile until his eyes fall on Ravyn. Curled into a soaking wet ball against the wall of the shower. He reaches in and turns the steaming water off. Almost in a panic he grabs for the towel and rushes to her side.

"I'm fine," she says unconvincingly as he helps her to her feet. "Just needed a little alone time to cry."

He wraps the towel around her shoulders as carefully as he can, "Have you been in here a long time?"

She nods as she takes the towel and tucks one corner into the top of itself so it will hold itself up on her body, "I came in here after the meeting, after I ran into Corey in the hall. He really got to me," she swallows fighting back another wave of tears as she gets dressed. "Then I watched the most recent video. And it.. I..."

He shushes her, not needing to hear any more. Pulling her into a strong protective embrace he kisses her forehead. "I've got you now. Don't worry," he coos. "I'll protect you... I love you."

She tenses up at his words, not sure exactly how to handle the outpouring of emotion from him. She panics, looking for the fastest way out of the room. "I... I... Have to go do... Something," she stammers before rushing out into the hallway.

Irrational fear overtakes her as she starts rushing through the backstage area with no actual destination in mind. She avoids the women's locker room, not wanting to talk to anyone but her best friend. She speeds through the cement corridors until she comes to a door with Dolph's name on it. She knocks frantically and then paces the hallway until she hears the doorknob start to turn. Not waiting to be invited in she brushes past Dolph in a desperate attempt to find JJ.

"Sure come on in," Dolph says sarcastically.

Ravyn looks around feverishly for her best friend, "Where's J?"

"Mexico," he reminds her.

"Fuck, I forgot," Ravyn huffs.

He raises an eyebrow at her distressed state, "Where's the fire? You okay?"

"No," she admits. "Nothing is okay. Literally nothing."

Dolph sits down on a steel chair and starts putting his boots on as Ravyn begins a new pattern of pacing the floor, "You wanna elaborate?"

She doesn't need any encouragement, "As If Corey coming to 205 Live and being a huge douchebag wasn't bad enough, now I've got videos of my sex life spread all over the Internet. The company trusted me enough to give me the title, but now I can't even be on TV for who knows how long. Because the office is afraid that the crowd will go into business for themselves and ruin the show with chants about me being a huge slut. I'm not even allowed to do appearances or be on house shows for a while." She pauses only for a second and then picks up right where she left off, "I just watched myself getting railed like a pornstar on camera. And on top of that I'm pretty sure every single person I've walked by today has either laughed at me or pitied me. And I'm not sure which one is worse. And the coup de gras... I think AJ just told me that he loves me."

Dolph waits to see if she's going to continues before speaking, "That's all pretty awful and Corey is a piece of shit." He starts to chuckle. "But do you realize just how ridiculous that last part sounded?" She crosses her arms, unamused by Dolph's laughter. "You just came tearing in here all fired up and upset because the guy that you've been dating for months, who's arguably the best thing that's ever happened to you, told you that he loves you." He lets that sink in for a moment before going on. "The man that you KNOW you've actually got feelings for. Now that he wants nothing more than to stay by your side during what may be the darkest moment in both your personal and professional life. You're here, hiding from him. Please tell me that you see the humor in that."

"Damnit," she curses. "What do I do? Do I go tell him that I love him too? I'm not even sure I'm ready to say that! Do I keep avoiding him until after the show?"

Dolph laughs, "Man, you broads ARE complicated. I wish Jenn was here to tell you how insane you are. Because I don't think it's quite the same coming from me."

She finally realizes how right he is and thanks him. Heading straight back to AJ's locker room she finds it empty. She waits a few minutes hoping that he will return. Two feverish laps around the room and she gives up. Bursting out of the doorwa, she nearly collides with AJ who has since changed into his ring gear. They stand awkwardly staring at each other, both of them hoping that the other will speak first. After what feels like forever Ravyn starts apologizing.

"I'm so sorry," she starts.

But AJ cuts her off, "No, I'm sorry. I should have kept quiet. You know... Until this whole thing blew over. I just hate seeing you so upset."

She dabs at the tears welling up in her eyes trying desperately not to smudge her makeup even more, "Thank you." She buries herself into his chest and breathes in a deep sigh. She momentarily gets lost in the scent of his cologne. "Everything has just been so overwhelming. And you've been so good to me."

"I told you. I'm here for you. And I mean that," he squeezes her reassuringly. "Why don't you come home with me after Smackdown. We've got a few days off before we head back to the southwest."

She nods tearfully, "I'll get my flights switched. I think I need a few days in the country with you as my only human contact."

"We don't have to leave the house even once," he chuckles and kisses her forehead.


	34. Chapter 34

The weekend seems to crawl by. Everywhere she goes Ravyn is confronted by fans and paparazzi grilling her about the leaked videos. When they aren't questioning every detail of the movies they're snapping pictures and recording her every move. They're absolutely relentless, and she tries her hardest to keep AJ from getting involved or even seen with her. Taking great care in making sure they aren't caught on camera together. She finds herself wearing dark sunglasses and oversized hooded jackets everywhere they go so that he doesn't get dragged into the media frenzy.

Monday morning Ravyn gets back to her hotel room in Roanoke, Virginia after a quick workout at the hotel gym. She flops onto the bed and plays with her phone. AJ had left while she was at the gym to go do a meet and greet. With nothing else to do for the rest of the morning she hits the speed dial for her best friend and waits patiently as the phone rings a few times.

"Hola amiga!" JJ answers brightly.

"Hey friend... Can we get breakfast or something?" Ravyn's stomach grumbles.

JJ chuckles, "That might be kinda hard. Unless you figured out how to teleport hash browns across the country."

"Are you still in Mexico?" Ravyn groans. "I'm having the worst week of my life and my best friend isn't even here to help me wallow in my misery."

JJ is instantly worried, "What's going on friend?"

Ravyn struggles to figure out the right way to word everything that's happened over the last few days, "So.. Uhh..there were some videos leaked on Friday... From when Corey and I were together. He, of course, claims that he had nothing to do with this."

JJ is quiet for almost a full minute, "Umm... The kind of videos that I'm thinking of?"

"Exactly the kind of videos that you're thinking of," Ravyn confirms.

"Shit, why didn't you call me sooner?" JJ exclaims.

Ravyn sighs, "Between trying to put out that fire, endless meetings with the office and trying to keep AJ from killing Corey ... I assumes that you already knew. Then I'd remembered that you've been in Mexico.. It's been a really tough few days."

"I wish I was there. I really haven't been paying attention to social media this week," JJ admits. "God... Now I hate this trip even more. I want to be there with you."

"Are you going to be at Smackdown tomorrow? I have to have another meeting with Vince.. And Corey... And Seth," Ravyn pauses. "And I'd really just rather die than deal with this. I just won the fucking title... And now this."

"Yeah, we leave first thing in the morning," JJ tells her. "I'll find you the moment I get to the building."

Ravyn sighs, "That can't be soon enough. Having to be in the same room as Corey for more than five minutes makes me want to vomit. And I have a feeling this will be a long one."

"I would leave right now if I could, you know that right?" JJ asks hopefully.

"I know you would. You'd bring me potatoes and make everything better," Ravyn sighs. "I've been pulled from TV and all of the live shows for the next week or two until this is under control."

"This will blow over soon. These things never last long, people have short attention spans. Soon there will be a new scandal drawing the trolls out from their mother's basements," JJ advises wisely.

The girls chat a little longer about nothing in particular before hanging up. Both of them excited to see the other at Smackdown the next day.

Ravyn spends almost her entire Tuesday in meetings with Vince, Seth, Corey, Mark Carrano and the entire WWE legal team. The company has been feverishly trying to quell the excitement surrounding the videos while attempting to find the source of the leaks. By the time she gets out of the conference room 205 Live is about to go on the air. She sneaks down the hallway and slips into AJ's locker room. Steam pours out of the open bathroom door where AJ finishes up a shower. The faucet squeaks and the water ceases to fall. AJ emerges from the doorway with one towel wrapped around his waist and another drying his dripping hair.

"Let me get dressed and then we can get out of here," he tells her.

She smiles at him. Just taking a moment to really enjoy looking at him. His muscular chest smattered with dark hair. Biceps nearly popping from under soft skin. The fluffy white terry cloth hangs snugly just under his belly button. She finds herself biting her lip while gazing at his perfect abs. She has to tell herself to stop staring and look away.

"See something you like?" He smirks playfully.

She just grins and tosses a balled up T-shirt at him. He chuckles and tugs it on over his head with a cocky grin. He finishes up getting dressed and before long they're on a red eye to Atlanta.

The next two days seem to fly by for AJ and Ravyn. They spend every single moment together. For the first time in weeks Ravyn finally relaxes, completely comfortable at home with AJ just enjoying each other's company. Too quickly though they're back on a and headed for Odessa Texas.

When they touch down at the airport AJ kisses Ravyn before they step out into the main concourse. He goes to pick up a rental car while she heads to another gate to meet up with Tyler. The two of them had planned to grab lunch together before that evenings house show. She doesn't have to wait long before Tyler emerges from the tunnel where his plane is unloading. He smiles when he sees her in her huge oversized hoodie and dark sunglasses. The distance between them closes and she hugs him tightly.

"You doing okay?" He asks carefully.

She nods, "Doing better after a few days off away from the world. I'm starving though."

"Let's go get some food then!" He grins.

She follows Tyler to the car rental counter and soon they're pulling up to a local barbecue place. They luck out when the restaurant is almost completely empty. They grab a booth in a secluded corner of the dining room, quickly place an order and settle in to catching up.

"You haven't assaulted any photographers this week have you?" Tyler jokes.

"No," Ravyn snorts. "But that doesn't mean I haven't considered it. They've been exceptionally terrible this week. I've been trying to keep AJ and I a secret, and so far I think we've been pretty good about it. But if they keep up the way they have been its going to be impossible to hide much longer."

"Half of the roster doesn't even know that you guys are a thing," Tyler laughs. "Besides you can always just start traveling with us again."

She laughs, grateful to have such good friends. The two of them sit close at the far side of the circular booth. "You and J were always the best travel buddies," Ravyn recalls.

Tyler smiles, "She would be super upset knowing that we're having Texas barbecue for lunch."

"She can never know!" Ravyn laughs but quickly turns serious. "Speaking of JJ. Where has she been? We were supposed to hang out on Tuesday. I saw she had a TV spot..." Ravyn trails off sadly.

"Maybe you just missed her because you had meetings all day?" Tyler suggests.

"This has been the worst week of my life," she pauses. "And my best friend is nowhere to be found. That hurts."

He frowns, unsure of what to say, "I'm sure everything is fine."

Ravyn takes her phone out and checks for any social media updates from JJ over the last few days. "She's been completely radio silent on the Internet..." She scrolls a bit farther on Facebook. However we can find out 'Five facts about Ravyn Storm', see 'Ten pictures that WWE doesn't want you to see' and also an article entitled 'Why Ravyn Storm and Tyler Breeze are definitely dating'."

Tyler's eyes light up, "I love facts, lay em on me!"

She rolls her eyes and clicks the link to what's sure to be a ridiculous click bait site. "So the first fact is that JJ and I are friends in real life. My favorite food is potatoes. I used to show horses and sold my horse to pay for tuition at Storm Wrestling Academy... Once assaulted a photographer... And dated Corey Graves." She sighs, "And this lovely website makes sure to point out that there are videos of the adult nature out there for your viewing pleasure."

"Sorry," he grimaces. Quickly changing the subject he asks, "You had a horse?"

She nods, "Yeah I rode show jumpers as a junior. And I did, in fact, sell my horse to pay for wrestling school."

"Wow I had no idea!" He admits.

She shrugs, "Want to find out why we're dating?"

"This is bound to be good," he nods.

She clicks the link and starts to scroll through the gibberish that barely qualifies as an article. "So our romance started when we were training together at Lance's wrestling school. We took a break when we were in NXT. Oh, here's the picture of us from the club that night that all the drama started. Me joining Breezango was us getting back together. The rest of the article is just pictures of us together. Ones we posted to Instagram. And a bunch taken by fans or paparazzi... Kinda creepy actually."

"Just wait until they catch us rolling into the arena together today," he smirks. "That will just feed the fire."

Elimination Chamber weekend starts off with a photo of Ravyn leaking. Just a simple shot of her in a hotel mirror. Black high heeled boots, fishnets, a super short plaid skirt and a black button up shirt unbuttoned to expose her chest. One of the photos that she had sent to Corey when they were dating. Luckily the photo doesn't seem to cause quite the controversy as the videos had the week before.

The PPV goes by so quickly that Ravyn doesn't even get a chance to be upset about not being on the card. Arriving at JFK airport early Tuesday morning she wanders through the terminal waiting for AJ's flight to arrive. She browses the many shops that line the open hallway finally stopping in one that sells books and magazines. Someone nearby clears their throat but she doesn't turn to look at them. She can feel someone standing uncomfortably close to her. She takes a step away from them and they move right with her.

"I want you to know that my offer still stands. Having both of you at the same time would probably be the most fun she's ever had," she knows Corey's voice instantly, but doesn't react. "But of course if she's not interested.. I'll be glad to show you some new tricks. Maybe spice things up for you and that redneck you're fucking."


	35. Chapter 35

**Thank you everyone who's still reading! I love reading your reviews. I've got a question for you all, would you be interested in hearing JJ's story? What about going back to the NXT days with Ravyn and Corey?**

Corey had disappeared right after his offer, leaving Ravyn standing there in shock. She managed to get herself together and meet up with AJ to go to their rental car. She doesn't mention the run in with Corey at all, afraid to upset him. They arrive at Madison Square Garden early enough to beat most of the early bird fans. Only a handful of people see them crossing the street from the parking garage to the venue, and no one seems to suspect a thing.

The two of them locate AJ's locker room and change into workout clothes. Ravyn is anxious to get in some ring time after being off of shows for over a week already. They work out with Tyler and Becky for a while before AJ leaves them to meet up with his opponent for the evening. Ravyn rolls out, leaving Becky and Tyler in the ring as she makes her way up the ramp. She swings through catering to grab a granola bar and some Gatorade on her way back to AJ's locker room. Footsteps behind her raise her guard. She's relieved to see her best friend appear at her side.

"Hey... I... Uh.. I've been looking for you," the pretty redhead stammers shyly, assuming Ravyn will be angry with her.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," Ravyn tells her.

"Never!" JJ balks. "I feel like a horrible person. I've just been avoiding everyone because of what happened in Mexico..."

Ravyn senses something is off, "Wha.. Um.. What happened in Mexico? I've had a lot going on the last week or so... So maybe I'm a little out of the loop."

"I'm almost glad you don't know," JJ laughs nervously. "I.. Uh.. I kinda got into it with Nikki our last night there. And I didn't manage to just get heat with her. My stupid ass managed to get heat with Cena too. Because I'm too damn good... At screwing up apparently." JJ steals her boyfriends catchphrase.

"I can't decide if that's better or worse than having your sex life broadcast for the entire world to see," Ravyn ponders. "Both are potential career enders. What happened?"

"I had been stewing over the news you told me about Corey all day... Eventually I was so pissed off I drank a bit too much," JJ pauses. "Said some shit about Cena. Maybe even to the point of saying he sucked dick to get to the top... It got slightly physical. Nothing too crazy, but it happened."

"You told Nikki Bella that her boyfriend sucked dick," Ravyn snorts. "Oh that must have been absolutely stunning."

The girls chat a bit more about Mexico before Renee Young cuts in to check on JJ. She alerts Ravyn to an incident she had had a few nights ago where she was almost assaulted by a drunk outside of their hotel. The details come pouring out of her best friend. She soon learns that since returning from Mexico JJ and Dolph had been fighting. She pulls her friend into a tight hug, relieved to see that's she's okay after what could have been a bad situation. The girls continue down the hall so busy talking amongst themselves that they don't see Corey leaning against the wall ahead of them talking to Baron Corbin. The girls are stopped in their tracks as the two muscular men block their path.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite hobbits," Corey snarls. "Have you come to take me up on my offer?"

JJ looks at Ravyn quizzically. "I'll explain later," Ravyn tells her. "Fuck you Corey."

"You already did that," Corbin smirks. "I think he's hoping you'll do it again."

Corey laughs, "That WOULD be a nice Valentine's Day gift."

Ravyn grabs her friends hand and pushes their way past the guys. With a promise to explain Corey's words to JJ later. The girls split up when JJ sees Dolph down a hallway. Ravyn smiles to herself, happy to see that her friends relationship seems to be okay after their fight. That fleeting moment of happiness is gone almost as quickly as it had come to her. She continues down the hall to AJ's locker room. She showers and changes into a grey plaid skirt and a black corset top. She's pulling a pair of high heeled black boots on when AJ returns. He can tell something is bothering her, and after some gentle prodding he gets her to spill the beans. As she tells him about Corey's advances and all of the other interactions she's had with him she watches AJ's fists clench repeatedly. He seethes just listening to what his girlfriend deals with. He wraps his arms around her protectively when she's finished speaking.

The show begins, Ravyn spends almost the entire time watching the monitor in the TV room to follow the direction of the product. She gets up to stretch during a commercial break, grabbing a bottle of water on her quick lap of the TV room. Raised voices in the hallway grab her attention, especially when she realizes that she recognizes them. She rushes into the hall to find AJ with Corey backed up against the cold brick wall. Rage in his eyes Ravyn fears that AJ is about to do something stupid.

"You're pushing your fucking boundaries, Graves," AJ growls. "You stay away from her."

Ravyn grabs AJ's balled up fist before he can hit Corey, "AJ, stop. He's not worth it."

AJ's demeanor softens when he sees her, but doesn't let his guard down. "I mean it," he warns Corey.

Corey backs away from them slowly, then disappears down the hall towards catering. Ravyn squeezes AJ's fist in an attempt to get him focused back on her. He stares down the empty hall angrily. When he's satisfied that Corey won't be coming back he turns to Ravyn and wraps his arms around her tightly. He kisses her forehead, the fiery rage in his blue eyes slowly dissipating. Her arms sneak into his vest letting her breathe in the delicious mixture of leather and his cologne.

"I'm going to kill him if he touches you ever again," AJ tells her matter of factly.

"I don't necessarily want him dead. As must as I enjoy the sentiment," she looks into his eyes. "If you killed him I would miss you far too much... I think I might love you Styles."

A smirk flickers across his face brightening all of his features, "I was starting to think I would never melt that icy heart."

A flurry of little kisses follows the statement. Their eyes lock for an intense moment before AJ presses his forehead to hers. A cat call whistle from the TV room snaps their heads in its direction. The doorway is filled with the heads of their coworkers smiling like guilty children watching something they weren't allowed to. They scatter like roaches when they realize they've been found out.

"Well, guess that's not a secret anymore," AJ laughs.

Ravyn is worried though, "How much do you think they saw?"

"Doesn't matter," AJ shrugs. "They'll make up whatever they want anyways."

AJ gives her a quick peck on the cheek and heads to gorilla for his match. Upon returning to the TV room Ravyn is relieved to learn that her coworkers did not see AJ confront Corey. They had only been alerted to the couple hugging in the hallway by a passing by Natalya. Ravyn watches AJ's match while avoiding as many questions from the small crowd as possible. As soon as he's back through the curtain Ravyn is at his side heading back to the locker room. He cleans up quickly and they get back across the street to their rental car before the show ends.

Ravyn settles into the passenger seat, preparing for their drive to Atlantic City. Instead AJ starts heading uptown into Manhattan. She looks at his questioningly.

"Eh, I don't feel like driving tonight," he shrugs. "Booked us a room."

Confused, she keeps quiet as he pilots the car through the always busy New York City streets. She recognizes Central Park as they drive alongside it and barely even pays attention as AJ pulls the car to a stop in front of a beautiful stone building. She recognizes it when she finally looks to see where they've stopped.

"You booked us a room at the Ritz Carlton!?" She says stunned.

"My girlfriend is the Women's Champion," he retorts

He opens his door and hands the keys off to the awaiting valet. Grabbing both of their bags he leads her in to the lobby of the grand hotel. Moments later they're in an elevator on their way up the the room AJ had booked. He clicks the keycard into the door and holds it open, allowing her to enter the room first. She flips on the first light switch she finds and the impressive room comes alive with light. A California King bed, a pair of couches with a fancy wooden coffee table, and a bathroom almost completely made of grey marble. The elaborate room oozes opulence making her feel like a princess inside a magical castle. On the table between the two couches sits a silver platter with cheeses and chocolate dipped fruits. Next to the couch is a raised bucket stand with a bottle of champaign sitting in ice.

"Babe, she turns to face him, but instead of getting to finish her thought he kisses her gently.

"Happy Valentine's Day, babe," he almost whispers to her.

His hands snake their way around her. One ends up on her lower back and the other entwined into her thick colorful hair. Their bodies creep closer together as their kisses deepen. Ravyn's fingers tease the waistband of his jeans, caressing his soft flesh.

"This puts what I got you to shame," she says breathily.

He pulls away from her, surprised, "You got me something?"

"Of course I did," she tells him as she goes to her bag and fishes out a small gift wrapped box. "Why don't you open this while I get changed."

Ravyn disappears into the bathroom and slips into some skimpy black lingerie she had purchased for just this sort of occasion. She adds a button up shirt and fishnets to the skirt and lingerie.

"Bonk 3!?" She hears AJ exclaim from the other room. "You got me Bonk 3!?"

She saunters out of the bathroom and stands next to him on the couch. "I noticed it was missing from you collection last week," she says slyly.

His eyes slowly move from the TurboGrafx-16 game to her feet. She watches as he takes in the sight of her outfit. She seems to take his breath away. He stands up, setting the game case down distractedly. His hands reach for her hips as he looks her up and down again. The hungry look in his eyes tells her that he likes what he sees. Fingers toy with the buttons on her shirt. He pops one open to discover the elegant lingerie underneath. His eyes twinkle in anticipation. He takes her hand and leads her to the large bed where he guides her down into the soft mattress.

He takes his time, unwrapping her like a present. She works his clothes off of him while he's busy playing with her. He's got her squirming under his touch by the time his clothes are gone. Unable to hold off any longer she nearly begs him not to stop. Their lips crash together as their bodies become one. She catches his lower lip between her teeth on the tail end of a kiss eliciting a throaty moan from him. Tangled together they become a sweaty mess of flesh until they collapse into each other's arms where they fall asleep swiftly.


	36. Chapter 36

**This chapter includes the Fozzy song "Judas", which I obviously don't own. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm looking forward to your feedback!**

One week later in Nashville, Tennessee Ravyn meets with Mark Carrano. They're on their fifth straight day of shows and everyone is exhausted. Ravyn sits across from Carrano, her gear bag at her feet because she hadn't even made it to the locker room before being called into his office.

"So.." He starts with zero emotion. "Good news."

She lets out a huge sigh of relief, "Not a phrase I'm used to hearing these days."

He smiles his weird creepy smile, "You're back on TV tonight... And your new music has been approved."

"Do I have a match?" She asks hopefully.

"We're finishing up the card. Should know in the next hour or so," he tells her. "Assume it's Naomi though."

She thanks him and wheels her bag down the hallway. She shoots AJ a quick text letting him know the good news and that she will be back in the women's locker room tonight. As she reaches the doorway with a computer paper printout reading 'Female Talent' taped to it a lump rises in her throat. She nearly loses her nerve and walks to AJ's locker room, but Becky walking up behind her changes that plan.

"Finally back to join us in the low rent district, Champ?"a hint of animosity seeps into the Lass Kicker's voice.

Ravyn looks at her sheepishly, "I deserved that."

The orange haired beauty immediately regrets her choice of words, "I'm sorry. Dat was a wee bit harsh."

"No, no," Ravyn stops her. "I should have been here with you guys instead of hiding from my problems."

Becky is quiet for a second, "What I really meant to say is.. We're happy to have you back."

Ravyn smiles, relieved to see that Becky and the rest of the locker room welcome her back with open arms. She spends the next few hours with the girls, catching up and avoiding any questions about AJ or the leaks. Once the show begins she goes over her segment with Naomi and the two of them get ready to go out there. Ravyn changes into her ring gear silently missing Tyler's leg floofies. Her new dark grey and black plaid shorts look dull against the shiny metal of the women's title belt. She grabs her leather jacket and swings through hair and makeup for a last minute touch up.

The glam squad curls the ends of her colorful locks and darkens her eyeshadow a smidge before sending her on her way. She sees AJ, Tyler and JJ waiting outside of gorilla for her while Naomi's music starts playing in the arena. The crowd buzzes with excitement. Ravyn hugs her best friends and kisses AJ before stepping into gorilla herself. Naomi is in the ring cutting a promo, demanding her rematch from the absent champion.

{I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...

I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...}

The words almost whisper over the arena sound system. Naomi drops the hand holding her microphone down to her side and looks around the arena.

{I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...

I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...}

The whisper comes again, slightly louder this time before a heavy guitar riff begins. The crowd murmurs in excited confusion.

{You are beautiful on the inside.

You are innocence personified...}

Ravyn tugs at her jacket psyching herself up to walk down the ramp

{And I will drag you down, and sell you out.

Run away.}

Road Dogg hands her a live microphone. She steps up to the back of the curtain and waits just a few more moments for the next lyric.

{I am cold like December snow.

I have carved out this soul made of stone...}

Lights flash, the Titantron comes to life with her name and a video package of career highlights. She steps out onto the stage and the crowd explodes with a mixture of cheers and boos.

{And I will drag you down, and sell you out.

Embraced by the darkness I'm losing the light,

Encircled by demons I fight...}

She climbs the ringside stairs and steps between the ropes.

{What have I become? Now that I've betrayed...

Everyone I've ever loved and pushed them all away..

And I have been a slave, to the Judas in my mind...

Is there something left of me to save in the wreckage of my life...}

She turns from the camera to Naomi as the chorus continues for a few more bars. Ravyn raises the microphone to her mouth as the music fades out. The crowd teeters on explosion as they listen to every word.

"Naomi," she smirks. "What makes you think that you even deserve a rematch for my title?"

The two women go back and forth on the mic for a few minutes until Daniel Bryan comes out to demand that Ravyn honor Naomi's rematch clause. Ravyn throws a fit refusing to defend her title on her first night back. The Smackdown Live general manager has other plans though. The bell rings a minute later and the match begins. They lock up in the middle of the ring getting a good reaction from the crowd. Any time Naomi starts to get in any offense Ravyn cuts her off by ducking her head through the ropes like a chicken shit heel. By the third time she does it the crowd is enraged, just wanting to see them fight. Finally Naomi gets the upper hand to the delight of the audience.

At the first opportunity Ravyn rolls away to the outside to get away from Naomi's onslaught. She reaches into her kneepad for a pair of brass knuckles. The referee still distracted by Naomi trying to get to the outside. As the ref backs her up Ravyn rolls back in. One solid punch with the steel fingers and the challenger collapses to the mat. Ravyn tucks the metal into the back of her tights and covers Naomi for the victory. She sneers to the camera with a cocky wicked grin as she snatches the belt from the referees hands. The crowd boos her as she walks back up the ramp from her successful title defense.

She steps back through the curtain to the smiles of the crew in gorilla. Road Dogg puts a hand on her shoulder to let her know she did a good job. A smile from Vince at the desk full of monitors confirms that she did ok. Satisfied, she leaves gorilla for the backstage area. AJ is there waiting for her with open arms. She buries her face in the crook of his neck and breathes in deeply. The moment is cut short by a production crew member calling Ravyn over to film a backstage promo for later in the show. AJ and her friends follow at a distance, wanting to watch but not be a distraction. Renee smiles as the two women prepare for the cameras to start recording. The crew counts them down and on the signal the cameras roll.

"Ravyn you've just defeated Naomi to retain your women's championship, albeit using nefarious methods.." Renee gets cut off.

"Nefarious methods," Ravyn snorts. "I won. She lost. It's as simple as that Renee. I'm the champion for a reason. None of these other women can hold a candle to me. When I got called up to Smackdown Live I knew it wouldn't take me long to become the champion. Even with being injured and out of competition for six months, here I am. At the top of the mountain while others who have been here for just as long, without injuries, haven't even had a title shot."

"Are you talking about JJ?" Renee asks. "You guys were best friends in NXT."

Instead of answering the cute blonde Ravyn just rolls her eyes. A smug look to the camera and she walks off screen leaving Renee looking confused. The smiles on the writing teams faces tell Ravyn that they liked the promo. JJ squeals excitedly and rushes over to hug her best friend.

"I can't believe this is finally happening!" JJ exclaims.

Ravyn nods excitedly, "I know! I never dreamed that the belt would be involved in our first feud!"

After a day off the company lands in Mexico for a duel roster tour. Having both Raw and Smackdown brands touring together gives some superstars the chance at a small break by not being booked. The rest get to catch up with the friends that they don't normally get to see. They board busses and head for their first arena in Puebla, Mexico. The card is stacked with talent, and the girls match is no exception. Ravyn tags with Alexa, Dana Brooke and Charlotte Flair against JJ, Bayley, Sasha and Becky. The good guys get the win sending the heel team retreating up the ramp. Soon after the girls are back in the locker room winding down after the match. JJ is messing around on her phone when Ravyn catches an odd look on her friend's face.

"J...? What's wrong?" Ravyn asks, her voice filled with concern. "You're making a face."

"Look at these comments," JJ motions for Ravyn to come read her Instagram. "I don't know where they're coming from."

Ravyn leans over her friend's shoulder to get a closer look at the phone screen. "What the hell?" She's shocked to see an array of replies to JJ's photo calling the girl a slut. Immediately she's reminded of the many similar comments she had received on her own social media after all of the leaks had started. "You'd better Google yourself..."

"That's never a good thing," JJ sighs, firing up a web browser.

Ravyn waits impatiently, "Anything?"

Without a word JJ hands the phone to her best friend with trembling arms. Once she's let go of the device she buries her face in her shaky hands. What Ravyn sees shocks her. It's a photo of her and Corey looking smug. He's shirtless with her standing at his side kissing his neck. The part that she can't seem to wrap her brain around is a redhead on her knees with her naked back to the camera, her head obviously hard at work on Corey's crotch. Her face isn't visible, but from behind it definitely looks like JJ.

"Holy shit! When was this even taken? I feel like I would remember that," Ravyn stammers.

JJ almost gets defensive, "You won't remember it, because it didn't happen. That's not me."

Ravyn analyzes the picture further, "It definitely LOOKS like you... Jesus this is bad."

"There's no way it is," JJ explains. "I hated Corey even then. I wouldn't have been caught dead in a situation like that."

Ravyn nods, "You're right. You never did like him. We've got to figure this out."

A text from Dolph pops up on the phone screen. "hey... I'm outside the locker room.. Looks like we have something to talk about babe."

"Uh oh," Ravyn sighs. "Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks that that looks like you."

"Grand," JJ groans. "Hopefully he believes me. I don't think I can take him being mad at me again so soon."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Ravyn tells her. "Wish I could back you up... But I don't even remember that night. I must have been wasted."

JJ runs a hand through her hair nervously biting at her lip, "Guess I better go get this over with."

"Good luck friend," Ravyn says encouragingly.


	37. Chapter 37

"How's J doing?" AJ asks in their hotel room in Acapulco later that night.

Ravyn shrugs, "Better than expected. But I think she wants to get together tomorrow.. Go to the beach or something."

"Alone?" AJ asks cautiously.

"Probably..?" Ravyn assumes. "You know, girl time and all."

AJ frowns, "I'd really feel better if you two didn't go off in Mexico on your own. With that picture floating around... And you guys being celebrities... I think you should bring one of the guys along."

"You don't want to come?" She only half jokes.

"I'd love to," he smiles. "But I have media in the morning. Besides, do we want the paparazzi harassing us?"

"Some day we'll be able to go all over and it won't be a big deal," she pouts. "I'll see if Tyler is free..." She shoots off a text and tosses her phone to the side as she deposits herself on AJ's lap.

The next morning the girls meet up in the lobby of their hotel with Tyler. He walks the few blocks to the beach with them where they set up their spot for the day. Ravyn parks herself under a huge umbrella where she can hide her pale flesh from the unforgiving rays of sunlight. Tyler and JJ lay out on their towels drinking in the warm sunlight. Ravyn and Tyler joke about feeding the flames of their secret relationship until they notice JJ being unusually quiet.

"So.. You doing okay J?" Ravyn asks. "What with everything that happened yesterday."

JJ shrugs as she traces random shapes in the sand with her finger, avoiding eye contact with her friends, "Have to be don't I? Nothing I can do about it except wait for it to blow over."

Ravyn shoots Tyler a concerned glance, "I hate to be an asshole... But you're sure that wasn't you in the picture?"

JJ looks at her friend stone faced, "You know I love you, but I think I would remember if we were ever together in THAT way... It would have made things weird I think."

"Things weren't weird for me and Seth until a few weeks ago," Ravyn chuckles uncomfortably. "I don't think I've ever been drunker than that night. I have no idea who that girl even is."

"I'm surprised you remember anything from that era," Tyler quips as he looks at Ravyn over the top of his reflective sunglasses. "You guys partied... A lot."

"Well I'm 99.9% sure it's not me," JJ confirms as Ravyn slaps at Tyler. "You know how much I hated Corey, even back then. I always kept myself guarded around him just in case things ever got out of control while I was around.."

"I should have listened to you more back then. I'd probably be in a lot less trouble these days," Ravyn admits. "Hey speaking of Corey.. I forgot to tell you what he said last week."

JJ rolls her eyes, "Oh, I know what he said. He has said it to me on at least two occasions. I just never told you..."

"He has!?" Ravyn gasps. "Why wouldn't you tell me? Does Dolph know!?"

"It was all talk. He approached me once in catering and the other time I went to him in order to give him a piece of my mind," JJ rationalizes. "And hell no, Dolph doesn't know. He would lose it if he found out."

"I hope he's all talk," Ravyn worries. "You should think about telling him. Just so he keeps an eye out for him... I told AJ. It went better than expected.."

JJ shakes her head, "I just don't know if I can tell him now. Not with the Divas incident still so fresh."

"I think he would rather know. If something happened and he could have prevented it... Damnit that's not even a phrase I should have to be saying. I fucking hate Corey," Ravyn grits her teeth angrily.

"Sorry friend, but I'm going to learn from your mistakes and just stay far away from the scumbag," JJ says wisely.

"You always were the logical one," Ravyn laughs. "At least our feud starts next week."

The three of them chat about storylines and the rest of the short Mexico tour. And hour or so later Tyler and Ravyn get up, ready to prepare for that evenings show. JJ doesn't budge from the warm sand. Although her friends try to encourage her to join them she insists that they leave her behind. Needing some alone time. Reluctantly they walk up the beach towards the hotel without her.

"Should we really leave her here alone?" Tyler asks with concern.

Ravyn's hands are already on her phone, "I'm texting Dolph to come get her. She only thinks she wants to be alone. Getting stuck in your own head is the worst park of these leaks."

"She'll be okay," Tyler puts his arm around her shoulders as they cross the busy street in front of their hotel.

Tuesday's live TV comes faster than anyone expects. Once they're at the arena Ravyn leaves AJ to go to a meeting with Mark Carrano. She's surprised to see JJ already sitting at the big table in the conference room. Excited to see her best friend, but also nervous that they'd both been called into the office, she smiles hesitantly.

"Ladies," Carrano addresses them both. "Tonight is the big night. We're going to start your feud, with a women's tournament to decide a number one contender. JJ you'll be gunning for the title, while Ravyn you're going to avoid defending the championship whenever you can." The girls nod understanding the premis. "But first I'd like to show you guys these..." He hands each of the girls a brown paper wrapped box. "Go ahead and open them!"

The girls share an excited look and tear into the plain packaging. JJ is the first to lift out her prize. A black T-shirt with her name on the front in bright pink, teal and lime green.

"Oh my god, J!" Ravyn squeals. "That's so cute!"

JJ holds the shirt up and takes in the stylish design. The back bills her as "Everyone's Favorite Underdog!" The prospect of getting her own shirt feeding her excitement Ravyn shreds the remaining brown paper. A look of sheer joy lights up her face as she lifts the dark purple garment from the box. A black and grey tornado winds its way across the front of the shirt with her name as the horizon line being kicked up by the destructive force. She spins the shirt around to see the slogan "Destroying Everything You Love" on the back.

She laughs, "Really going for all my best qualities on this one, huh?"

Carrano just smirks, "It was between that and 'Catalyst of Chaos.' I'm sure that'll be on the next one though." He takes a moment to let the new shirts sink in before continuing. "Vince would really like it if you guys would wear these on TV tonight. They're printed, available in the arena and they'll go live on Dot Com after the show tonight."

The girls nod excitedly, eager to post pictures of the new shirts on their social media pages. Not wanting to keep them much longer Carrano lets them know that there are a bunch more items in the pipeline if the shirts do well. They thank him profusely as they walk back from the meeting to the locker room engrossed in their new merchandise. Ravyn leaves JJ at the door of the locker room when she sees AJ talking to Daniel Bryan. She sneaks up alongside him trying not to interrupt his conversation. AJ smiles when he sees her, motioning for her to join him. He wraps an arm around her shoulders pulling her close to his muscular chest. She blushes slightly as the Smackdown Live general manager looks at them with utter astonishment. The boys finish up their chat and Bryan walks away scratching his head. AJ smirks at his coworker's confusion.

"I think you enjoy making people uncomfortable," Ravyn laughs.

"I just like seeing their reactions," he confirms. "How was your meeting with Carrano?"

"Eh, it was okay," she says coyly. "He wants me to wear this tonight."

She hands AJ the balled up purple fabric with a sly grin. He shakes the fabric out and gets his first look at the garment. "Your first shirt," he beams. "I'm going to need one of these."

She backs him up against the cement wall boldly, lacing her fingers behind his neck. Her forwardness obviously turning him on, she kisses him softly. Their eyes meet hungrily and they make the silent decision to sneak off to his locker room. Luckily the halls are quiet and they manage to make it there mostly unseen. The moment the door clicks shut behind them Ravyn slams AJ up against the wall again. He chuckles, their lips crash together in a rough assault of kisses. Tongues dance with each other as AJ tears frantically at her clothes. Her fingers make quick work of his belt and his jeans fall to the floor at their feet. Her own clothing joins his seconds before he scoops her up and spins her around against the wall. Their eyes lock as their bodies grind together. Ragged breaths and pleasure filled moans, skin touching skin, her fingers knotted deeply in his dark hair. A throaty growl rumbles from deep inside AJ. She has to bite her lip to keep from screaming his name as they reach their climax together.

Panting and sweaty they take a quick shower to get cleaned up. Ravyn checks the time and leaves a light kiss on AJ's cheek as she heads off to hair and makeup to get ready for the show to begin. The Glam Squad gives her a dark smoky purple eye and a dark nude lip before curling the ends of her thick colorful hair. She steals a pair of scissors and starts snipping away at her new T-shirt. Holding it up to admire her handiwork she smiles with satisfaction. The woman doing her hair comments that she's impressed with the result.

With hair and makeup finished she changes into her new shirt, satisfied with the placement of the holes and ties. She pulls on a pair of black ripped up jeans and her black Dr. Marten boots. She can hear the show opening as she completes her outfit. Picking up the title belt on the way out of the women's locker room she makes her way to the backstage interview area for a pre-tape with Renee and JJ. The two best friends try their best not to squeal with excitement when they see each other in their new shirts for the first time. Renee just laughs at them geeking out. JJ and Renee take their places in front of the camera and the production crew counts them down.

Renee starts the segment by addressing the tournament for the women's number one contenders spot. She moves on quickly to Ravyn's comments from the week before, asking if they were aimed at JJ. She makes a point of referencing their friendship in the past. JJ takes Renee's questions to heart and begins answering the cute blonde. As she brings up the champion's statement from the week before Ravyn steps into the frame on the other side of Renee. She stares at her best friend, stopping her mid thought.

"You really think that you deserve a shot at my belt? You realize that it only took me a few short weeks to win this title, you've been here for months. What have you accomplished?" Ravyn smirks cockily. "Let's be honest here JJ. You never even have singles matches because you can't handle a one on one matchup. That's why you're always tagging with Dolph and Zack." JJ stammers to retort but Ravyn shushes her. "Maybe if you can win some singles matches and advance in this tournament then you'll deserve a title shot."

Ravyn turns on her heel after shooting the girls an arrogant glare. She steps off camera and let's JJ finish up with Renee. The crew seems satisfied with the taping and let's the girls leave to get ready to go live. A few minutes later they can hear the pre-tape airing in the arena. JJ makes her way into gorilla for the first match of the number one contenders tournament. JJ's music hits and the crowd cheers madly as she makes her way to the ring, Natalya already waiting there for her. The bell chimes and the girls lock up in the center of the ring. Just as JJ starts to get the advantage over Natalya a familiar sound pierces the arena.

{I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...

I'm becom- I'm becom- I'm becoming...}

The guitar slices through the arena leaving the crowd shocked. Ravyn steps from behind the curtain to a series of boos. JJ pauses in the ring, distracted by the arrival of her rival. Natalya takes the opportunity to attack JJ as Ravyn makes her way down the ramp to the commentary table. She grins like the Cheshire Cat at the camera as JJ gets throttled in the ring. Ravyn puts on a headset and joins the commentary team to call JJ's match, satisfied with the effectiveness of her mind games. The match turns around a few minutes later and JJ manages to pull off the victory over Natalya, advancing in the tournament. JJ climbs the ropes in the corner of the ring closest the commentary table staring Ravyn down as the show cuts to commercial.


	38. Chapter 38

**Anyone still reading? Thoughts? Things you love? Things you hate?**

Smackdown Live ends with AJ winning the Intercontinental Title. He and Ravyn celebrate on the road for the next few days, excited for their upcoming weekend off before the two week long Australia tour. AJ plans to stay with Ravyn at her apartment in Orlando so they can train at the Performance Center before the tour. They enjoy their two days off by mostly never leaving Ravyn's apartment except to train. They play Mario Kart non-stop and just take the time to enjoy being together. Time passes too quickly, soon they're back on the road. A house show in Washington on Monday and a live episode of Smackdown in Seattle.

Once at the arena they check to see if the card is up, just to discover that it isn't ready yet. Ravyn and JJ get changed and head to the ring to get in a quick workout with Becky and Alexa. The four girls work extra hard, excited about the upcoming tournament. Sweaty and high on adrenaline Ravyn and JJ make their way back after their ring session. Tyler is the first face they see upon getting backstage, and he looks concerned.

He shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably, "So.. The card is up." He pauses, unsure of how to break it to the girls. "You guys have a couple of segments... And a tag match... A mixed tag match."

Ravyn already knows she's not going to like the answer, but she asks anyways, "Who's my partner?"

"Baron Corbin," he tells them.

"What!? Why?!" JJ says in shock, knowing she'll be in the ring with him too.

Tyler shrugs unsure exactly, "It looks like they're working towards a triple threat feud for the Intercontinental title. AJ, Dolph and Corbin."

"And I get stuck with Corbin instead of AJ," Ravyn fumes. "Fucking brilliant."

"I'm sorry friend," JJ says sadly. "Hopefully it'll just be for tonight."

Frustrated, Ravyn turns away from her friends. "I'm going to go find out what the hell is going on," she calls over she shoulder as she goes to find Carrano. She's almost seeing red when she turns a corner to see Baron Corbin himself. When he sees her he grins smugly, " Hey Toots! Ready to get in the ring with me tonight?"

"Fuck of Corbin," she fumes.

"Well, you fuck you other tag partners," he snickers. "So is that an invitation?"

"Not even in your dreams would I sleep with you," she says dryly as she pushes past him on her way to find someone with authority.

She searches high and low for Mark Carrano before finding him outside in the production truck. When she asks about the angle she discovers that the pairing is Vince's idea, so there's no chance of changing it. Carrano assures her that the storyline will be a huge hit, furthering the story for both the Intercontinental and Women's titles. Not wanting to risk her or JJ's push she doesn't mention any of her issues with Corey or Corbin. Crestfallen, she leaves the production truck hoping to find AJ. The opening music for the show fills the arena as she wanders the halls. When she locates him she first notices that he's wearing her new shirt. A smile sneaks onto her face at the sight. She tells him about her partner for the evening and he sighs.

"I'm sorry babe," he frowns. "Vince probably just wants you two to team up together because your looks are sort of similar."

"You're probably right," she sighs wrapping her arms around his torso. "Better just make the best of it."

He hugs her tight before letting her go get ready for the show. She and JJ change, hit hair and makeup and meet up backstage for a quick segment. They film the girls fighting with each other backstage. Dolph comes in to separate them, struggling to hold them each at bay. Baron Corbin steps in front of Ravyn and stands nose to nose with Dolph while the girls shout at each other from behind the much larger men. The crew lets them know the cameras have cut and they'll be needed in gorilla soon. The commentary team announces the match to the audience at home.

JJ and Dolph head down to the ring first. Ravyn and Corbin step up to the curtain waiting for their turn to enter the arena. Corbin smirks at Ravyn, her music plays first and she steps out onto the stage to wait for him at the top of the ramp. Her music cuts out and his begins half a second later. He saunters out from behind the curtain and sidles up next to her. She poses with her good arm holding the Women's title high above her head. Corbin lets her stand there for a minute so he can leer at her. An egotistical smirk and he grabs her hand leading her down to the ring.

"Get your fucking hands off me asshole," Ravyn hisses through gritted teeth just loud enough so the cameras don't pick it up.

Corbin smiles, amused at her displeasure, "You never complained about your other tag partners touching you."

She rolls her eyes and jerks her arm free before rolling into the ring. The match itself is surprisingly quite good. Once the bell rings Corbin is pretty professional. Ravyn and JJ get a decent amount of time in the ring to shine and further their feud for Mania. Corbin gets the pin on Dolph with a handful of tights to earn them the victory. Ravyn and Corbin backpedal up the ramp away from the angry duo in the ring. Corbin slings an arm around her shoulders with a shit eating grin, knowing she won't push him away on camera. As soon as they're back through the curtain she shrugs his arm away and sneers.

"I said don't touch me," she spits just out of earshot from the producers in gorilla.

He holds up his hands and chuckles, "Whatever you say doll."

She glares at him as if to tell him that he's pushing it. He just cackles and leaves her standing there as he disappears down a hallway. Absentmindedly she rubs her bad shoulder while she waits for JJ and Dolph to come backstage. JJ checks on her friend and soon the three of them are back in the locker rooms getting ready to turn in for the night and get some sleep before their seven hour flight to Hawaii the next day.

Their plane touches down on the big island of Hawaii early the next afternoon. The Smackdown crew boards busses for the hotel in Kona where the Raw roster is already checked in. Since most of the roster has caught on to their relationship Ravyn sits next to AJ on the bus. They immerse themselves in a game of Mario Kart on their 3DS's while the bus takes forever to get through traffic. They eventually get checked into their room where they get their first chance to stretch out their travel sore muscles.

A short time later Ravyn and AJ set out on their own to take in some of Hawaii's splendor. He gets them a cab over to Volcano National Park where they get a hike in, enjoying the chance to get some exercise without weights or a ring. She suckers him into taking a bunch of selfies on their adventure, taking advantage of the beautiful scenery. He smiles when he sees her set her favorite one of the shots as the background of her phone. Once they're back to the hotel and cleaned up they grab a quick dinner with JJ and Dolph at a cute restaurant across the street. A couple of drinks in and they're having a great evening. The four of them cross the street back to their hotel where they hear familiar voices booming from the bar next to the lobby.

"I think I hear the Hoots!" Ravyn grins dragging AJ towards the bar.

He just rolls his eyes, "How can you NOT hear them?"

"Is that Gallows and Anderson?" Dolph chuckles as he and JJ follow them.

Ravyn nods excitedly as they enter the bar. The four friends don't take long to find the boisterous duo downing a collection of drinks. The Club is excited to see the group, especially their favorite 'bearded baby.' AJ ignores them and signals the bartender for a round of drinks. Dolph fits in almost perfectly with Gallows and Anderson as the only one of the group that's actually funny. It doesn't take long for the voices to start. Gallows' Stone Cold voice entertains most of the crew while AJ just rolls his eyes. The drinking continues and as AJ had predicted weeks ago Gallows jokingly implies that the champions should pick up the tab.

Ravyn just laughs at the ridiculousness. "Isn't Famous Hoot the one with the huge bank account?" She jokes.

Everyone laughs. "Well played Princess," Karl chuckles. The conversation stays light and fun. "I hope you've been staying away from all the paparazzi lately," he says to Ravyn. "AJ needs you around. He never puts up with us for this long. So don't go assaulting any photographers."

"It's not me you have to worry about," Ravyn giggles drunkly. "JJ is becoming the violent one. She went after Nikki on the last Divas trip."

JJ's stunned face is relieved when the guys start to laugh. "Skipped right past Beat up John Cena and went tight to Beat up Nikki Bella huh?" Gallows howls.

"She was being a bitch," JJ says sheepishly.

Karl laughs, "Isn't she always kind of a bitch?"

"Too sweet me on that!" Gallows booms.

The group exchange Too Sweets and giggle like school children. After some liquid encouragement JJ regales them with the story of her scuffle with Nikki. She has them on the edge of their seats as she explains the details of the altercation with Cena's girlfriend which eventually turns to conversation of the leaked photos. The photo with Ravyn and the redhead soon comes up.

"I mean... That picture was pretty convincing," Gallows admits.

Karl slaps the big man's chest. "You can't say that Hoot!" He hollers at him.

"What?" Gallows asks as if he'd done nothing wrong.

Ravyn blushes and sinks back into AJ's chest wishing she could disappear as JJ explains that she isn't in the photo. Sitting in a group of coworker's that have seen her sex tapes while sitting with her current boyfriend has her feeling like she wants to puke. He immediately picks up on her discomfort and finds a way to sneak them away from the bar while everyone else is distracted.


	39. Chapter 39

The next day Ravyn stomps into the women's locker room with a chip on her shoulder. Luckily JJ is the first person she sees.

"Have you seen the card yet?" Ravyn asks angrily.

"Nope," JJ shakes her head and continues to get ready. "Haven't looked yet. Why?"

"Good news. We're working together all tour," Ravyn says sarcastically. "Bad news, I'm teamed with Corbin the whole time. He was such a twat Tuesday too."

"Eww. That sounds awful. I'll make sure Dolph super kicks extra hard this tour," JJ wrinkles her nose as if she smells something vile.

Ravyn shifts uncomfortably as she starts rummaging through her bag, "I heard a rumor that this stupid team of me and Corbin was Corey's idea."

"How the hell does he have that kind of creative pull?" JJ wonders aloud.

"I have no idea. I think he's spending a lot more time at the office, so he's probably going to get another network show or something," Ravyn sighs. "I figured when he couldn't wrestle anymore he'd just disappear."

"Scumbag," JJ huffs.

"And I was really looking forward to this tour too," Ravyn admits. "Now it's going to be ruined by being with that jerk. And Corey is here too... On the tour with us."

"We'll just have to try and find ways to make sure it's fun and pretend they aren't here," JJ says encouragingly. "Too bad Corbin is a six foot tall blundering beanstalk. But we can find a way to ignore his existence in the ring."

"A big stupid balding beanstalk," Ravyn grumbles.

The girls continue to chat as they get ready for the first show of the tour to begin. They're the second match on the card so as they hear the show begin they make their way to gorilla. Dolph is there waiting for them. He and JJ exchange an adorable kiss that makes Ravyn smile. The happy moment is quickly soured when Corbin walks up with Corey at his side. Dolph steps between them and the girls protectively, making Corey grin micheviously. He gives Ravyn a wink and blows her a kiss of his own.

Ravyn and Corbin make their way to the ring first to her new music. The fans boo them relentlessly but explode with joy when Dolph's music plays and the other duo make their way from the back. The match itself is okay. The heels eat the pin, giving JJ and Dolph the victory.

They repeat almost the same match the next night in Honolulu. Saturday is filled with sixteen hours of flying time as the roster travels to Adelaide, Australia. After a short delay waiting for their bags Ravyn and AJ get on the last bus to the hotel. They check in and take the elevator up to their room. Exhausted from traveling and lack of sleep they flop onto the king size bed. Moments later they hear voices coming from the neighboring room. At first it just sounds like noises, but then they hear someone yell "Daddy was a fall down man!" Followed by laughter.

AJ rolls his eyes, "Are you freakin kidding me?"

Ravyn bursts into a fit of giggles, "You know that if we don't go over there they'll never shut up."

AJ groans, knowing that she's right. He offers her his hand to help up her from the bed. She pockets their room key as they step into the hallway and knock on the door of their loud neighbors. Gallows opens the door skeptically, a huge grin overtaking his face when he sees AJ and Ravyn at the door.

He immediately slips into his Howard Finkel impersonation, "Making their way in to room 317 from the hallway... The current WWE Smackdown Women's champion, Ravyn Storm! And her tag team partner... The Intercontinental Champion of the world... The phenomenal, A J Styles!"

"Shut up Fink you piece of shit!" Karl shouts from the couch in the room.

"Fuck you Karl. I'm leaving," Gallows shuts the door behind the imaginary announcer and immediately pops back into his normal voice. "What brings you Hoots here?"

"We had a feeling you guys were talking shop," Ravyn snickers.

"You know how we knew that you were talking shop?" AJ asks as Gallows and Anderson look on intently. "We could hear you all the way in our room!"

Gallows smiles goofily while Karl assures them that they'll try to brother more softly. AJ and Ravyn take a couple of beers from the mini fridge and sit down on one of the beds. It doesn't take long for the two of them to get going on a rip about absolutely nothing at all. AJ sighs as Gallows starts singing his favorite song at the top of his lungs.

"He's a grizzled young vet, he's a grizzled young vet. Worked so many towns that sometimes he forgets. Doesn't matter if he's curtain jerking or the main event..." Gallows pauses as if he's trying to remember the words. "He's a grizzled young vet. He's a grizzled young vet. The house was so big that he thought it would blow, because he got a ton of color down in Puerto Rico." Karl howls with laughter as Gallows continues his jingle. "He's a grizzled young vet, he's a grizzled young vet. He worked a kid in Memphis that was green as goose shit, but it's a one bump comeback... Or did he forget?"

Even AJ is laughing by the end of the song. The four of them share stories and drink a few beers. Their conversation is all over the place. Stories from Japan, Gallows selling his gear to a Japanese fan, and finally settling on the topic of AJ's hair.

"Your hair is getting crazy hoot," Karl tells him. "It's like beyond soccer mom now."

"You gotta shave that damn little hairy belly," Gallows advises in one of his redneck voices.

"Don't you dare," Ravyn demands with a smirk.

AJ laughs, "If you think I'm going to take advice from these two idiots you're crazy."

"Easy there hoot," Karl pretends to be hurt. "If you're gonna brother me.. Would you please just brother me softly."

Eventually they're all on the verge of falling asleep. Everyone returns to their own rooms to get some sleep before their first show in Australia.

The buses drop everyone off at the arena in Adelaide by mid morning. The girls hit the ring together to stretch and roll around before the early afternoon show. By the time the show begins the girls are ready for their match. Tonight they have a six man tag. JJ and Dolph will team up with Zack while Ravyn and Corbin will be joined by Mojo Rawley. The heels go to the ring first, letting the babies get a good loud pop when they come out a few minutes later.

Ravyn and JJ start off, but quickly end up tagging out so they can save their stuff for the end of the match. Corbin stands on the apron with Ravyn while Mojo scuffles with Dolph. A second later and Mojo has dropped his guard allowing Zack to jump in and give the assist against Mojo. Corbin throws his arms out to the side in a display of frustration. In his expressive movements he manages to clobber Ravyn with his arm. She drops to her knees on the apron and grabs at her head, seeing stars from the contact with his strong forearm. She shakes her head, trying to get her wits about her. She can hear Mojo tag in Corbin while she sinks down to sit on the edge of the ring. Mojo leans around the ring post to let her know that they're coming up on the next tag. She shakily climbs back to her feet and watches the action in the ring.

After being beaten down in the corner Zack tries to make a hot tag to Dolph. But Corbin stops him with a big boot to the face. To ensure that he can't tag Dolph in, Corbin runs full speed at their corner, blasting Dolph off of the apron sending him rolling all the way to the metal house show barricade. Corbin walks back to continue his onslaught on Zack, but Ravyn's eyes are locked on JJ. She's down on one knee on the apron holding her right eye. It takes her a few moments but she rises back to her feet, knowing she needs to be there for the tag. A trickle of red lets Ravyn know that her friend has somehow been busted open.

Zack makes a frantic tag to JJ, forcing Corbin to tag Ravyn in. The girls lock up and manage to have a quick conversation as they work through the closing sequence of the match. JJ tells her friend that she caught an elbow from Corbin when he sent Dolph flying from the ring apron. Ravyn takes care to protect her friend as much as she can as she executes her finisher, then pins her with her feet on the ropes for leverage. The heels are victorious through cheating once again. Corbin and Mojo come through the ropes to celebrate with Ravyn. The guys each grab one of her hands and raise them high above her head. Mojo drops the arm he's holding to hand her the women's championship. Corbin, however, refuses to let go. With a death grip on her wrist he holds her arm up for an awkwardly long time. She finally yanks herself free and rolls out of the ring headed for the back.

AJ is waiting for her behind the curtain. He checks up on her while he waits for his match with Rusev to begin. A quick kiss as his music starts and she heads back to the locker room. Each step is painful after the match they had just had. She sees JJ sitting on one of the benches in the locker room, holding some gauze to her under eye.

Ravyn rubs at her wrist where a huge handprint shaped bruise is already forming, "You okay? You took a pretty nasty hit out there."

"You tell me," JJ pulls the bloodied gauze away from just under her right eye. "How does it look?"

"You might need a stitch or two," Ravyn cringes at the sight of the injury. "It's super swollen right now. Maybe some ice will do the trick?"

JJ goes back to applying pressure to her wound, "Brilliant. What's wrong with your wrist?"

"Fucking Corbin wouldn't let me go after the match. He insisted on raising my hand and he wrenched the hell out of my wrist," she explains. "But literally everything hurts."

JJ fumes, "Fucking jackass. Dolph was livid after the match. Zack had to stop selling the finish to help me restrain him."

"He clocked me wicked hard on the apron too. Right before you got murdered," Ravyn recalls. "Do you think he did that on purpose?"

"Honestly? It wouldn't surprise me. I mean how many times have you ever seen people get clocked standing on the apron? Let alone twice in one match," JJ reasons.

"Seriously. What an asshole," Ravyn stretches in an attempt to get comfortable. "We're going to look like we got into a car accident in a couple of days. I've already got bruises showing up. And I don't bruise easily."

JJ nods, "And I'm still a bruised mess from my workout with Billy at the performance center the other day. Since I DO bruise easily."

"And it's only going to get worse as they settle in. Ugh.. I just want a massage. And some French fries," Ravyn sighs.

"Ohh, French fries," JJ says longingly. "Let's go get checked out by Doc and make our men take us out for potatoes."

Ravyn smiles, "You're brilliant. If they say no we can just pout and show them our battle wounds."

"Yes, battle wounds definitely equal potatoes," JJ agrees.

The girls change quickly then make their way to Doc's office to get JJ a few stitches in the still bleeding cheekbone.


	40. Chapter 40

**Happy Christmas! Two chapters in one week! Thank you all for reading. I'm looking forward to your reviews!**

A quick two and a half hour flight to Sydney the next morning and the Smackdown roster gets to enjoy a day of sight seeing. They visit the zoo where they get a private tour of the behind the scenes areas. The girls even take pictures holding koalas. Then they stop at the aquarium before Ravyn, AJ, Dolph and JJ end their evening with a stop at Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

For the first time all tour they actually get to sleep in on Tuesday morning. Getting to wake up at their leisure Ravyn rolls over and snuggles herself into AJ's side. She can feel him smile contently as she runs a hand from his belly button up to his chest. Warm sunlight streams into the room keeping them from falling back asleep. They lay together for a few more minutes before Ravyn groans and rolls out of bed. She stretches and wanders to the bathroom where she turns on the shower.

She steps into the warm water, letting it soak her sore bruised body. She looks down at her wrist to see a deep purple and yellow bruise glaring back at her. The rest of her body has a collection of less impressive contusions. The jingle of the shower curtain hooks on the metal rod snap her out of her observation. AJ's arms wrap around her waist from behind. His chest presses against her back. She leans against him as his hands travel all over her pale flesh. He nips at her collarbone hungrily, making her shudder with his gentle touch.

A moan escapes her as he bends her over under the hot stream of water. His hands grip her hips determinedly as they have their way with each other. Jumbled words, cascading water and whimpers of pleasure fill the steamy bathroom. A few minutes later they step out of the shower into the spacious bathroom. AJ swipes his hand across the fog coated mirror to reveal their faces staring back at them. AJ winces when he sees the black eye his girlfriend is sporting.

"I don't remember that looking so bad last night," he says sympathetically.

She leans into the mirror to get a better look at herself. "Yeah, bruises take a few days to show up on me. This is probably from Corbin's rogue forearm on Sunday," she shrugs. "Do you have media today?"

He nods, "I've got a signing for a few hours when we get to the building. And I may or may not have a match tonight. That will depend on what they cut out of the show."

She chuckles, almost hoping that the mixed tag is one of the matches that gets cut from the card. They get dressed and grab their gear bags on the way down to the awaiting busses. The Smackdown Live roster splits up upon arrival to the arena. Many superstars are featured in the huge meet and greet at the arenas attached convention hall. Ravyn drops her bag in the women's locker room and sets out to get the layout of the backstage area. Catering provides her with a cold bottle of water and some fresh fruit to snack on as she wanders the halls. Passers by shoot her odd looks, which confuse her at first, until she remembers the black eye and bruises.

Mark Carrano sees her and waves her over. After a quick chat he lets her know that they're pulling the mixed tag from the show. Both women look a little too rough to be on international television. Although she wants to protest she knows that he's making the right call. She makes another lap of the backstage area before going to check the updated card. She sees that Dolph and Corbin are scheduled for a match that AJ will do commentary on. She's relieved that the boys hadn't been cut from the show just because the girls were. That relief is short lived as the sound of footsteps behind her in the empty room make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her feeling of dread is soon confirmed by Corey's voice.

"So how long do I have to wait for you to ditch that hillbilly and come crawling back to me?" He pauses for a moment and smirks when she turns around to face him. "That always was my favorite. You on your knees crawling back to me. Begging me to fuck you."

She huffs in disgust at him, "What do you want Corey?"

He steps closer to her, their bodies almost touching, "You underneath me, trembling, just like before. We were so good together."

"Never going to happen asshole," she spits defiantly. "We were absolutely terrible for each other."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small silver object. "You WILL come back to me," he dangles a flash drive in front of her face. "Or I'll release everything you and I have ever done."

"You piece of shit," she bubbles with rage.

He laughs wickedly, "Maybe instead of arguing about this you just let me and Corbin show you what you're missing. We'll make sure you forget all about AJ Styles." She grabs for the flash drive, but he jerks it out of her reach just a second too quickly. "Nice try Babe. But I'm keeping this close to me. It's the only copy in existence, I'd bet someone would pay a lot of money for it. I'd give it up if you want to earn it though."

"You are literally the most disgusting person on the entire planet," she shoves her way past him, blinded by anger and tears.

Ravyn rushes through the backstage area to where the monitors are showing the live feed from the show. JJ is watching intently so she knows that Dolph's match is already underway. She catches a glimpse of AJ at the commentary table next to JBL.

Panting, out of breath and looking like she's had a generally rough day Ravyn asks, "Did I miss it?"

"Nope, bell just rang a bit ago," JJ assures her.

Ravyn's eyes drop to the toe of her boot, "I ran into Corey earlier..."

JJ groans taking one eye off of the monitor to look at her best friend, "What did that ass hat do now?"

Ravyn swallows hard, "He's got a flash drive. With EVERYTHING on it. He's trying to use it to blackmail me into hooking up with him and Corbin."

"What?!" JJ whips her head around giving her full attention to her best friend. "That sick fuck!"

"Yep," Ravyn nods. "He wants me to leave AJ and be with him again. And now he's threatening to release all of our videos..."

J shakes her head in disbelief and turns back to the monitor as Zack Ryder walks up to watch with them, "He really needs to be put in his place. Too bad he can't wrestle anymore so the boys can just hit him with some stiff shots in the ring."

The girls watch as Dolph and Corbin lock up in the middle of the ring after a double down. Corbin muscles Dolph into the corner where they look to be calling a spot. Corbin throws a knee to Dolph's midsection as if to emphasize a point. He gives a snarled grin to the camera, lifts Dolph's head by the hair and leans in to say something else to him. Dolph pushes free from his grip. A moment of hesitation and rage crosses his face. He clenches his fist and hammers Corbin with a potato as he battles out of the corner.

"Speaking of stiffski," Ravyn almost whispers.

"Holy shit... Did he just hit him for real?" JJ gasps.

Ravyn shakes her head in disbelief, "No way.."

"Yeah, he definitely did," Zack confirms.

"That's not good," JJ says as the camera shows a close up shot of Dolph absolutely fuming. "He looks pissed..."

"Did Corbin stiff him first?" Ravyn wonders.

"Didn't look like it. It came after a lockup," Zack tells them. "I think he said something to Zigs."

JJ sighs, "Oh that's really not good..."

Ravyn nods, "He looks super pissed. I hope they wrap this up soon or else Dolph might kill him."

"I just hope Corbin doesn't start stiffing him back..." JJ can't tear her eyes away from the match on the monitor. "What the fuck is Corbin doing now?"

Corbin rolls out of the ring to get in AJ's face. After yelling back and forth at each other briefly Corbin stalks off and throws the time keeper out of his seat. He grabs the steel chair and rolls back into the ring shooting another cocky glare at AJ.

"Oh shit. Is this the finish?" Ravyn asks. "I didn't think we were using chairs on TV!"

"If this shitface injures Dolph before Mania..." JJ trails off angrily.

The ref calls for the bell when he sees Corbin holding the chair menacingly. The announcer claims Dolph as the winner by disqualification.

"Get out of the ring you douche," Ravyn whispers angrily.

JJ shifts from foot to foot nervously, "Damnit. I wish I was out there."

The girls sigh with relief as they watch Corbin roll out after a quick stare down with Dolph. Corbin leaves the arena up the side of the ramp avoiding gorilla completely. The show cuts to commercial and Dolph comes back up the ramp followed by AJ a minute later.

"What happened out there?" AJ asks as he comes through the curtain from gorilla.

Dolph runs a hand through his hair angrily, "Corbin.. Corbin said that he took the photo and that it is definitely J... Along with some other crude comments about her."

"But..." Ravyn stammers. "But it's not her through."

"I know," Dolph assures her. "But I just see him causing more problems. So I popped him one."

JJ grins, "Yeah you did. It looked great."

"Well," Ravyn shrugs. "Can't say he didn't deserve it."

The group disbands and gets on one of the early busses back to their hotel in Sydney. Once they're showered and settled in for the night Ravyn breaks the news about the flash drive to AJ. Fighting back tears she informs him that there is still a lot of content that hasn't been released.

"How much more can there be?!" AJ's voice is almost angry.

Embarrassed she suddenly finds the ugly hotel carpet very interesting, "A lot."

"I can't believe you let him do this to you," he scolds her. She can't even find words to respond to him. "This could cost you your entire career."

"You think I don't realize that!?" A tear falls to her cheek as she tries not to be angry with AJ. "Getting out of that relationship was the best decision I've ever made. And somehow it's still haunting me!"

"Because..." Ravyn cuts him off.

"Don't even fucking say it," she growls in a raised voice. "Do you really think that I don't know how big of a mistake I've made? I have to live with it every single day! I'm well aware of how fucking stupid I was!"

Both of their heads snap in the direction of the doorway as a loud knock interrupts their argument. AJ looks at her questioningly. She only shrugs as she attempts to wipe the tears from her face. He walks to the door and looks through the peephole. He grumbles audibly and opens the door. Three uniformed Sydney Police Officers are standing there in front of him.

"Is everything ok in here sir?" The first officer asks carefully. "We got a call about some yelling, maybe an argument going on in this room?"


	41. Chapter 41

"I'm sorry officer," AJ says quietly.

"We heard a woman in the room with you, is she available?" The officer asks calmly.

"Of course," AJ tells them. "Babe, can you come to the door?"

Ravyn comes around the side of the bed and into view of the policemen for the first time. She can see the looks on their faces change to ones of actual concern. She does her best to try and convince them that AJ didn't beat the shit out of her. But they're not having any of it. They both try to explain that they're professional wrestlers and they get beat up for a living. Onlookers start to gather in the hallway as the situation only seems to get worse.

"We're going to have to ask you to come down to the station, sir," one of the officers tells AJ.

"Seriously?" AJ asks frustrated.

"Yes sir," the officer confirms firmly. "Your girlfriend is covered in bruises and we heard the two of you arguing through the door. Spending the night apart will probably do the two of you some good."

"Babe, call Shane," AJ's voice fills with concern.

Ravyn nods and immediately starts calling Shane's cell phone. The police lead AJ away, at least sparing him the humiliation of being handcuffed. It takes a few minutes before Shane finally answers. Desperation pours from Ravyn's mouth as she explains the situation to her boss. He tells her to hang tight and says he'll be there in a few minutes to pick her up so they can go get AJ together. She requests that he bring proof of her getting beaten up so that they have something to show the authorities.

She paces the room feverishly before heading to the lobby of the hotel. Fans and reporters alike are swarming the area after word of a WWE superstar getting picked up by the police spreads like wildfire. Shane pulls into the drop off zone a few minutes later and she quickly jumps into the passenger seat. The two of them exchange nervous looks, but dare not speak on the ride to the precinct. Shane parks the car and they head inside. He spends almost an hour trying to convince the police chief that AJ isn't a womanizer and that Ravyn's wounds are from her actual job. He has to go as far as showing some matches from the tour to finally get through to him.

AJ is lead from the holding cell and given back his belongings. Ravyn rushes to hug him tightly. He returns the hug, but she can tell that he's understandably upset. Shane thanks the police chief for being merciful. As the three of them prepare to leave the station two familiar faces come through the front door with a significant police escort. They're both still wearing pajamas. JJ frantically follows behind two officers who are struggling to keep her distanced from a handcuffed Dolph.

Ravyn can't believe her eyes, "J...? What the hell are you guys doing here?!"

"These cops came pounding on our door... They think that Dolph is hitting me because of the bruises! They won't listen to me when I say they're from work," the redhead rambles in a panic. "Wait... What are you doing here?"

Ravyn looks at her best friend, a realization crossing her mind, "Cops came for us too. They dragged AJ down here because someone said we were arguing. And then when they saw me they assumed he was hitting me too. Same scenario."

"I'll get this taken care of," Shane assures them as he starts walking back to the chief's office. "I've got Sunday's match on my phone."

"Why the fuck is this happening?" JJ groans.

Ravyn shakes her head, "I have no idea. But you'd better believe that 'WWE Superstars arrested for domestic violence' is going to be trending worldwide on Twitter as soon as America wakes up."

"I think we can probably guess why this is happening. Or more importantly WHO is making this happen," AJ folds his arms across his chest angrily.

JJ paces back and forth trying to see where the cops have taken Dolph, "Do you really think that even Corey would stoop this low? I mean.. No offense, I guess it makes sense for you guys. But me and dolph?"

"I think that we both know that this isn't close to the lowest Corey would go," Ravyn reasons. "He's probably using you to get to me."

Rage overtakes the redhead, "I'm going to kill him. He's fucking with four people's careers all because he wants to get laid. Please tell me I can kill him?"

AJ looks around the lobby of the precinct nervously, "Maybe here and now isn't the best place to be rationalizing his death. I only just escaped being arrested."

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," the guilt overtakes Ravyn.

"No, it's his fault," JJ tries to tell her. "You did nothing wrong."

Shane comes around a corner with a very cranky looking Dolph. JJ rushes straight into his arms as soon as he's close to the group.

"Oh thank god. Are you okay?" JJ asks worriedly.

Dolph hugs her tightly and plants a light kiss on her forehead, "No, there is nothing okay about this. What the hell is going on?"

"We've got a theory, but nothing concrete," AJ admits.

"Uh huh," Dolph says knowingly. "And does this theory involve everyone's least favorite scumbag?"

All Ravyn can do is nod her head sadly. Moments later Shane joins them and offers the band of miscreants a ride back to the hotel. AJ is quiet once they get back to their room. Sensing his displeasure with the situation she stays out of his way and gives him some space. When they crawl into bed he turns and faces the wall instead of leaving himself open for snuggling like he normally does. His coldness stings. Silent tears drip onto her pillow until she falls asleep.

They have a short flight to Melbourne early the next morning. AJ is quiet the whole flight and bus ride to the hotel. They check into their room for a couple hours of downtime before they need to leave for the arena. Ravyn sits on the desk chair on the opposite side of the room as AJ, desperately wanting for everything to just be ok. She can tell that he's still upset so she browses Twitter to see what the damage is.

"Ugh, Twitter is a fucking disaster," she groans.

"Of course it is," AJ snaps back. "The world can't get enough of your drama."

His snarky tone hurts. "Is everything okay?" She asks carefully.

"No, everything is NOT okay," he replies harshly. "It's like every freakin thing we do there's another roadblock. I'm sick of it. We can't just enjoy anything. Drama freakin follows you. And now I'm wrapped up in it. I almost got arrested last night! And the whole world thinks I'm a woman beater now!"

"I'm so sorry," she stammers trying to hold herself together.

"Do you just attract drama like a freakin magnet?" He ignores her attempt to apologize. "What's next? How much worse is this going to get?"

A lump rises in her throat as a flood of word vomit escapes, "I hope you don't seriously think that I enjoy all this. I want nothing more than to be able to enjoy being us without all this bullshit."

"But some how some way every week is another episode in the never ending soap opera that is your life," he says with enough resentment to really hurt her. "I don't want my life to be a constant struggle. I'm a freakin adult, I'm over the stupid high school drama!"

She bites her lip, not wanting to say anything and make it worse. The tension rises as AJ starts messing with his luggage. She can feel him getting ready to walk out the door. She stands up and grabs the handles of her bags, stalking to the door of the room she spits, "Don't bother, I'll leave."

She doesn't even look back as she escapes into the hall, positive that seeing him will make her cry. One arm loops through the handle of her gear bag so she can access her phone as she walks. A quick text to Tyler and she's at his door. He lets her in, watching her internal struggle as she tries to decide if she wants to tell him what's going on. She props her bags up against the wall and just looks at him with watery eyes.

He pulls her into his arms just letting her cry. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," he consoles her.

They spend their time before bus call just sitting together and watching some TV. She appreciates everything that he is to her. A tolerant and understanding best friend. They have to split up as the buses load. She boards the heel bus and sees AJ already in one of the back seats pressed up against the window with his headphones in. She decides to sit as far away as possible and plants herself a row from the front. She puts her headphones in, but doesn't turn any music on. She just doesn't want to be bothered. Gallows and Anderson board shortly after her.

"Uh oh," Gallows whispers loudly to Karl. "I think the Royal Hoots are fighting."

Karl steps up into the aisle and groans, "Aww shit. Trouble in Hootville."


	42. Chapter 42

Ravyn tugs a kick pad down over her boot, sitting alone in the corner of the women's locker room while the other women chat. She looks absolutely beyond miserable as she shoves her other foot into her black leather wrestling boot. The girls from the baby face bus start to trickle in and JJ's eyes immediately find her best friend.

"You look like you spend the night in the slammer," JJ only half jokes.

Ravyn completely no sells her friends joke and looks up at the redhead forlornly, "I think AJ is rethinking our entire relationship."

"Are you serious?" JJ asks, all humor gone from her tone.

Ravyn nods, "We got in a huge fight at the hotel before coming here. He's sick of all the drama, and the roadblocks..." She stares at her boot, lacing it up slowly. "He asked if I just attract the drama or if I'm the cause of the drama.. I mean. He was almost arrested and the world thinks he's abusive now because of me."

"Damn," JJ struggles to find the right words. "Hopefully he will calm down with some time. This can't last forever. I would like to think that he wouldn't bail on you because of this... I thought he was better than that."

"I mean, I can't blame him. It's been one thing after the other. The leaks, Corey, almost getting arrested in a foreign country..." She pauses. "I'm probably going to stay with Tyler tonight."

"What about a girls night?" JJ suggests.

Ravyn sheepishly replies, "I... I don't want to kick Dolph out of his own room. That seems so unfair."

"He could probably use the space as well. He's not the happiest of people either right now," JJ tells her. "We can always just get our own room for the night."

"That would be really cool," Ravyn seems to brighten up a bit. "Pity party in our room. Maybe the boys will be less upset when we get to New Zealand tomorrow."

JJ sighs, "I hope so. I've been really looking forward to New Zealand."

"Worst case the Kansas-Canada Connection will just enjoy Hobbiton by ourselves. I don't want to let relationship snafus ruin what could be my only visit."

"Agreed. We hobbits can have fun by ourselves," JJ smiles. "It's been too long since we did something on our own."

Ravyn smiles for the first time all day, "You're right. We should celebrate us. Let's not let the guys tag in at all tonight and tear the fucking roof off of this place!"

"And then junk food, potatoes and booze! Oh my!" JJ giggles.

The girls exchange a quick high five before they continue getting ready for the show.

Girls night is a huge success. They travel to Queenstown, New Zealand the next day and what should have been a free day for sightseeing becomes a day filled to the brim with alcohol. Ravyn spends her first night in New Zealand with Gallows and Anderson at the hotel bar until Tyler finally drags her up to bed. Much to her relief they never even ask about AJ. One more night of binge drinking with the Hoots at the airport while the Raw roster prepares to fly back to the states for Monday's live TV and Smackdown goes on to Auckland. Saturday morning Tyler's alarm goes off early. She opens an eye and glares at him from under a pile of blankets. Her body protesting every part of being awake after consuming so much alcohol over the last few days.

He snickers, "Maybe if we didn't drink so much the last few days we wouldn't be so cranky." She flips him off and pulls the blanket over her head in an attempt to hide from the day. "Come one. We're meeting everyone in the lobby in an hour."

She groans and drags herself out of bed. She throws on a comfy hoodie and some dark jeans before adding a pair of sunglasses to hide her tired eyes. It's been four days since her fight with AJ. She'd spent almost every moment that she wasn't working drinking with Gallows and Anderson. They had barely even seen each other at the arenas. Her heart aches not knowing what he's thinking, or even if he cares that they haven't been together.

Tyler leads them down to the lobby where JJ, Dolph and Zack are waiting. They board a tour van and start their trip to Hobbiton. The girls laugh and joke together about finally getting to go to their homeland. The van takes them to one of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Hobbiton, the town small town where Bilbo and Frodo had lived in The Shire. They begin a private tour, laughing at taking pictures in every nook and cranny. The girls joke about second breakfasts and elevensies until a snack is located at the Inn. Tyler relentlessly makes fun of Zack as they exit through the gift shop where he can't control his excitement over exclusive Funko Pops.

The last show of the tour is over before they know it and they're back on a long flight home. A quiet day off and then they have Smackdown Live in San Francisco. Ravyn rides to the arena with Tyler and Dango and immediately drops her bag into the women's locker room. Having not seen AJ in almost a week she sets out to find him and figure out what exactly is going on between the two of them. She starts in catering, checks the ring and the production truck. He's nowhere to be found. She finds herself in a quiet hall far away from any activity, seemingly lost.

Hearing voices up ahead she rounds a corner hopefully. She freezes in her tracks when she sees the two faces staring back at her. Corey and Corbin. They start circling around her like sharks smelling blood.

"Hey Toots," Corbin snarls. "Finally come to see what you're missing?"

"Gross," she feigns gagging.

Corey steps up to her. He's so close that she can smell his subtle cologne, "Give us a few minutes and we can really make you gag."

"Is that how long it takes you to get it up these days?" Her sarcastic tongue bound to get her into trouble.

Corbin laughs, "That's cute. She's got jokes."

Corey is less than amused however. He pushes her backwards with his body. She panics as her back touches Corbin's chest. She tries to escape to the side, instead of a safe exit she feels two strong hands grip her shoulders and push her into the cold, unforgiving cement wall. Corey is all over her with the cockiest of smirks.

"Now that that hillbilly boyfriend dumped you you've got no excuse not to come back to me," his sinister eyes gleam with bad intentions. "We can start right now."

"Get off me Corey," she struggles under his vice like grip.

He slowly pins one arm above her head, followed by the other. He grips both of her small wrists with one hand, holding them fast to the wall. She wiggles desperately in an attempt to get free from him. He snickers at her struggle, his free hand caressing her cheek. He ignores her pleas for him to stop as his hand trails from her cheek, past her collarbone and then tracing a single finger down the center of her chest. Corbin laughs hungrily as he rubs his hands together watching Corey manhandle her. She attempts to knee Corey in the groin but he steps out of the way effortlessly. His hand has made it to the top of her belt buckle where two fingers rest just inside against the soft flesh of her stomach. She begs Corey to stop, but he has no intention of listening.

A blur of dark hair and purple fabric comes flying around the corner. Corbin catches a forearm to the back of the head and is sent flying into a production storage case. Fear flickers across Corey's eyes as he sees a fist coming straight for his jaw. Ravyn has never been so relieved to see AJ. Corey back pedals up the hallway holding his face. He turns to sneer at them while taunting them with the flash drive. He shouts a reminder that this isn't over before he and Corbin skitter off down a dark corridor.

AJ turns to Ravyn after making sure that they wouldn't be returning. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" he fires off a barrage of concerned questions. His hands on her arms holding her at a distance so he can look her over worriedly.

Shaken, she nods, "I'm okay."

As if that was the only thing he needed to hear he pulls her into what may be the tightest hug she's ever received. "I'm so sorry," he begins as he holds her against his chest. She breathes in his sweet clean smell trying to relax as he continues. "I was a real ass last week. You didn't deserve that... I was scared. Almost going to jail scared the shit out of me. And I regret the way I acted... I said a lot of things that I didn't mean. I'm sorry. Really and truly sorry. I love you. Please forgive me."

The sadness on his face tells a story of just how much their fight had hurt him. His soft sorrowful eyes melt her icy heart. She nods and buries her face into his chest, inhaling deeply, happy to be back where she knows she belongs. He takes her by the hand and they start to walk back to the more densely populated backstage area.

She can't help but smile as she gives him a quick once over, "That's a really nice shirt." He grins, proudly wearing his girlfriends first official t-shirt.


	43. Chapter 43

Ravyn and AJ are inseparable after the altercation with Corey and Corbin. He shadows her almost everywhere she goes as the countdown to the start of the live show winds down. He even tools around the door of the women's locker room as she gets changed. She comes out to join him after putting on some dark denim shorts, a ripped up version of her t-shirt and a denim vest covered in perfectly placed studs, spikes and patches.

He compliments the hard work that she must have put in making the intricate vest. He escorts her to gorilla where she heads to the ring to do commentary for a tournament match between Carmella and Becky. During her time at the table she gets to hear the official announcement that the Women's title match at Wrestlemania will be a Ladder match. Carmella gets the victory, securing her spot in the finals of the tournament. Ravyn makes her way to the back where AJ, Dolph and JJ await. The girls squeal with excitement and jump around like children at the thought of having a ladder match together. They briefly say hello to Tyler and Dango as the duo heads to the ring for a tag match. The two couples hang out and watch the monitors as their friends perform.

JJ's match is up next against Alexa. Ravyn waits until five minutes into the match before coming out from behind the curtain. She emerges without any music at all. Her shining title belt draped over her shoulder she struts down the ramp, completely distracting JJ. Ravyn makes a point of calling JJ's attention to her as many times as possible as she circles the ring. Try as she might, somehow the distractions don't keep JJ from winning the match. JJ stares down her best friend with subtle confidence as she advances to the finals.

A few minutes later and the girls are backstage with their boyfriends. AJ and Dolph leave them to do a quick backstage segment for their lead up to Wrestlemania. Corey keeps his distance as the girls walk past him to get back to their locker room.

That night Ravyn climbs back into AJ's bed in his hotel room. She's relieved to be wrapped back up in his muscular arms, it doesn't take long before they give in to their desires, desperately seeking each other's closeness. Slow, rhythmic motions, passionate moans and sweaty deep kisses. They feel like they had been apart for months instead of just a week. But they make up for every lost moment in a feverish night of fooling around.

They're in Redding, California the next night, followed by Eugene, Oregon the night after. Both house shows run as close to flawlessly as possible. Ravyn and AJ decide to fly to Little Rock, Arkansas a day early for Saturday's show. The TSA line is surprisingly short. Shoes go into bins, coats into another and they pop their bags up onto the conveyor belt. Ravyn makes it to the off side of the metal detector and gathers her items while she waits for AJ. She looks up from her phone to see a TSA agent pulling him aside. She follows as closely as she can without interfering. They've got his bag pulled aside, and before she can say anything he's whisked away to a closed off room.

She paces the floor outside of the sealed doorway for what seems like forever. Finally AJ emerges, looking perturbed. He rushes them to their gate not wanting to miss their boarding call. He promises to explain everything once they're on the plane. Luckily they make it just in time for final boarding. They find their seats, stow their carry ons and AJ whispers to her the tale of the interaction.

"So TSA stopped me because of a bottle of baby oil in my bag," he starts. "And next to that was a conveniently placed baggie of white powder."

What little color she has drains from her face, "What was it? Did someone set you up?"

"Of course someone did," he explains. "Cops came, did a quick test.. It was just baby powder. But still if they had wanted to be dicks they could have kept me here all night and made us miss this flight."

Ravyn's fists ball up in her lap, "Corey."

"Had to have been," AJ agrees.

"This has got to end," Ravyn says determinedly. "I've got an idea."

She explains her plan to him as they take off towards Arkansas. The next few days of the house show loop are spent working out the logistics of her scheme. In all of the activity and drama leading up to Wrestlemania the girls begin to panic when they realize that they don't have outfits for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. AJ suggests a few places to try while they're in Atlanta before Smackdown Live.

The girls meet up in the lobby of JJ's hotel early Tuesday morning. After a quick stop for breakfast potatoes they hit the shopping district. The first couple of shops yield no winners. By the third store they're getting frustrated. Ready to give up they start to walk back to where they parked the car. A dress in the window of a small boutique catches JJ's eye. They stop in to find a couple of really neat alternative looks. JJ finds a beautiful floor length spaghetti strap dress. The color starts at the top with a bright turquoise and melts down into a lovely brilliant magenta. Intricate bead work accents the high waistline of the simple yet stunning garment.

Ravyn continues browsing while JJ tries on the pretty gown. She comes across a rack of dresses more her style. Corset tops, leather, studs, spikes, zippers and so much more. As she rifles through the hangers one dress speaks to her. A purple plaid corset top that has an attached collar with a sheer panel of fabric across the chest. Leather straps criss cross the bodice and transition nicely into the short black skirt. Silver eyelets laced up with black satin ribbon accent the hips to the hem of the fabric. The choppy trim of the skirt gives peeks of the tule petticoat designed to look like spiderwebs.

It's obvious from the moment that she sets her eyes on it that this is the dress for her. She sneaks into the other dressing room as JJ is coming out to check herself out in the mirror. Ravyn quickly swaps clothes and steps out next to her best friend. The girls smile at each other, knowing that their boyfriends will be impressed. Quickly they change back into their street clothes, but on the way to the register something shiny catches Ravyn's eye.

"J... I think you need these.." Ravyn holds up a pair of low top pink sequined Chuck Taylor sneakers.

The redhead squeals in excitement at her friend's discovery, adding a pair to her purchases. Thankful to have found something to wear for the Hall of Fame ceremony the girls make their way to the arena. Ravyn meets up with Tyler and Dango to explain her plan for Corey and his flash drive. AJ meets her in catering to see if the first step of the scheme works.

They each put together a plate of food and take a seat at a table overlooking the buffet line. Corbin and Corey appear shortly after, like clockwork. Ravyn and AJ chat about the girls shopping trip while Ravyn watches them like a hawk. Corey takes a seat a few tables away, shooting her a sinister smirk. She rolls her eyes and does her best to look like she's ignoring him while actually monitoring his every move.

Dango wanders into catering and makes a couple laps of the buffet line. Seemingly trying to decide what to actually eat. He grabs a plate and scoops himself a heaping portion of barbecue sauced ribs and baked beans. He turns from the line and takes two steps before tripping over his own feet. His plate of food sails through the air and lands perfectly on the back of Corey's head and neck. The sloppy plate slides down the back of Corey's neatly pressed dress shirt.

Corey gets up ready to fight. But Dango plays the apologetic buffoon to perfection. He pretends to help Corey clean himself off as best he can while actually just smearing the mess around. Corbin cackles across the table, near tears at his friends misfortune. Brushing Dango away Ravyn finally hears Corey say the magic words.

"I need to go shower," Corey huffs. "I feel disgusting."

Corey gets up and stalks towards the men's locker room. AJ swings into action and slides into one of the seats at Corbin's table. He distracts the balding idiot with some ideas for their match tonight while the rest of the plot unfolds. Ravyn smirks to herself and texts Tyler. She waits patiently for a return text once his mission is complete.

After what feels like an eternity her phone vibrates in her hand. Tyler's name dances across the screen. He asks her to meet him near the production truck, far away from the locker rooms. She almost skips the whole way there. Tyler smiles when he sees her round the corner looking excited.

"Easy. That was too easy," he grins declaring her task finished. "Next time we'll need a harder case to crack." He drops the silver flash drive into the palm of her outstretched hand.

"So this is the one he had?" She double checks.

He nods, "Yep, swapped the one you gave me with the one on his key ring while he was in the shower. Standard procedure." She hugs him, a weight lifted from her shoulders now that she has possession of her private videos. "So what was on the one you gave me?" He asks not really sure he wants to know.

"Corrupted files," she says deviously. "Maybe a virus. Whatever computer he pops that sucker into is going to get wrecked. So with any luck he will have the files on his laptop, they'll get corrupted along with anything linked to it. Gone forever."

Tyler laughs, thrilled to see his friend regaining some control over her life again. The two of them split up and return to their locker rooms to get ready as the live show begins.


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello all! Once again thank you so much for your reviews and comments! They make writing this so much more fun!**

 **Quick question, would anyone be interested in reading JJ's story?**

The show goes live as the three girls on the evenings show hit hair and makeup. Carmella and JJ talk about their match in the finals of the tournament and laugh about how JJ's main roster debut match was also against Carmella. Ravyn adds tidbits of knowledge or advice where needed on their upcoming match. She catches a glimpse of AJ watching over her from the hallway, making her smile.

Not long after Carmella's music hits the sound system the crowd groans, but buzzes excitedly for the next competitor. Ravyn watches the monitor in the back with Dolph and AJ as JJ makes her entrance. The fan favorite gets a super loud reaction from the Atlanta crowd. The bell rings and the match begins. JJ and Carmella battle back and forth all over the ring. Ravyn's eyes are glued to the monitor as the two women in the ring go into their finishing sequence. Ravyn plants a light kiss on AJ's lips and steps into gorilla. She's escorted by security to a doorway on the arena floor.

The bell rings and JJ's music plays throughout the arena. Ravyn makes her way through the doorway. She's immediately immersed in the excitement of the crowd. Stealthily she rushes across the floor. Up and over she hops the barricade surrounding the ring. Silence from the crowd, then screams for JJ to turn around ring out. But the redhead is lost deep in her victory celebration, she doesn't even notice Ravyn sneaking in behind her. The champion slides into the ring, stalking JJ. She slams her forearms into JJ's back, sending her friend crashing to her knees. Ravyn doesn't let her friend stay down for long, but ever the fighter, JJ attempts to return the attack. Ravyn kicks her in the gut, doubling her over in the ring. She drops the title belt onto the mat as she grabs both of JJ's arms behind her back. They drop to the ground as Ravyn delivers her devastating double arm DDT finisher onto the belt.

The champion stands back up, smiling wickedly at the camera. She toes JJ's side flipping the redhead face up. She has to hide her shock with a snarl as she sees a trickle of blood streaming down JJ's forehead. Not willing to let a golden opportunity go to waste Ravyn picks up JJ's head by a fist full of hair. She lets the camera get a good look at the underdogs bloodied expression. After the tiniest moment of hesitation she swipes her right hand across the oozing red mess. She smears the blood of her enemy across her own pale face. She can see the camera boom zoom in for a close up so she picks up the belt and holds it up next to her head. A truly evil look on her face as the show cuts to commercial.

Ravyn slips up the ramp and through the curtain to await her friend, who's being helped to the back by a couple of referees. Once JJ is back through the curtain holding a towel to her face Ravyn rushes to her before Dolph even can. She pulls her bestie into a tight hug, then pushes away to examine her forehead.

"J, I'm so sorry," Ravyn apologizes sincerely. "I didn't mean to bust you open. I swear."

JJ almost laughs, "It's okay. I'm fine." She turns to the guys. "Did it look good at least?"

"It looked great," Dolph nods with a chuckle. "But I wonder how much they showed after Crazy over here wiped your blood all over her face."

"They'll use it," AJ states. "Mania is five days away. And that's guaranteed eyes on the product."

Ravyn swallows hard worried about her split second decision, "I don't even know what came over me. It just sort of happened."

They're interrupted by Road Dogg popping back from gorilla to check on them, "J, you okay?"

JJ nods with a smile, "Yep, all good."

"Go get checked by Doc," he insists. "And Ravyn, for the love of God, please go wash your face."

"Shit, I forgot that was still there," Ravyn laughs.

JJ and Dolph head off to get her checked out by Doc while Ravyn and AJ go get cleaned up. Excited to spend another night at AJ's before heading out to their final show before Wrestlemania.

One short night at AJ's so he can grab a suit for Hall of Fame and they're on their way to Savannah for a house show. As soon as they're done with the last show before Wrestlemania they jump in the car for the four hour drive to Orlando. Exhausted, they push through the drive, arriving at Ravyn's apartment just after two in the morning.

"I feel like I haven't been here in months," Ravyn says as they come through the front door. She drops her keys onto the stand just inside the door. "I don't even know why I'm still paying for this place. I'm never home."

"So why don't you move in with me?" AJ asks without missing a beat. Taken aback slightly Ravyn is silent. "I mean, you don't have to..." He adds quickly.

"No, no," she comes to her senses. "That actually sounds amazing. I'd just never even considered it before."

"Well it's not like you're anchored here to Orlando and NXT anymore," AJ reasons. "Let's get some sleep and we can talk about it later."

The girls meet up at the Performance Center the next afternoon to work out some ideas for their ladder match at Wrestlemania. Exhausted from their intense workout they take a break, sitting on the apron of one of the rings to catch their breath.

"I can't believe Mania is three days away," Ravyn takes a long swig from her water bottle.

"I'm not gonna lie.. I'm freaking out," JJ admits.

Ravyn chuckles, "Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little nervous."

"I never imagined that we would be in this caliber match at Mania together. Let alone our FIRST one," JJ beams. "Talk about dreams coming true."

"We're super lucky. We've come a long way and the company must trust us a lot to let us have a ladder match," Ravyn can barely hide her excitement.

JJ grins madly like a Cheshire Cat, "I just hope we can pull it off."

"I'm sure we will be fine," Ravyn pauses awkwardly, struggling to find the right way to ask her next question. "... Hey J... How would you feel if I left Florida?"

With a sly grin JJ answers her, "I'll only allow it if this conversation is going where I think it is."

Ravyn blushes, "AJ sort of asked me to move in with him last night when I was complaining about never being home."

"It's a huge step for both of you after all the crap that's happened to you over the last few months," JJ encourages her best friend. "If you feel it's the right thing to do then you should go for it."

"I'm not sure it's the right move. But I think it's worth the risk," Ravyn admits. "I just didn't want to leave you alone without any warning."

"It's like you said. We are never here. Don't worry about me. I have Dolph, and I'm hoping it stays that way," JJ smiles. "Besides being on the road we see each other more than we do on off days anyways."

"Thanks friend, I think that was the push I needed," Ravyn takes another sip of water. "Let's run through that spot once more and call it a day."

The girls step back through the ropes and spend the next hour working through the mechanics of their ladder match.

The next morning the entire WWE and NXT roster meet early at the Orange County Convention Center for the second day of Wrestlemania Access. Everyone splits up for different press events. The fans buzz with excitement as they get into lines to meet their favorite superstars. Ravyn and JJ have a three hour long signing event at noon together. The girls get there to see an ocean of fans chanting their names. The crowd buzzes in anticipation as the girls arrive They sit at opposite ends of a very long table. Fans will come through to meet JJ first and then move down the table to meet the champion. Screams and cheers for the two rivals are deafening as the girls take their seats. Security lets the fans start filing in once the girls are settled.

For the most part the fans are great. The girls sign 8x10s and take pictures with everyone. Some even bring them gifts. One little girl gives each of them one half of a best friends heart necklace, telling them that they should stop fighting and be friends again. Ravyn tries her hardest not to be mean to the child and still remain in character.

As the fans continue to trickle through a few creepers manage to make it to the table. Some even hinting at the leaked pictures. Though the vast majority of their fan interactions are nothing but wonderful. The sight of a WWE camera crew coming into view with Renee lets the girls know their signing is almost over. The last few fans come through for their photos and Ravyn steps behind a curtain. Renee sets up for a quick interview with JJ. The camera starts to roll and JJ answers a question about their upcoming Wrestlemania match.

Ravyn waits to hear JJ's answer before rushing back through the curtain and attacking her best friend. She beats the redhead to the ground, kicking her relentlessly. Ravyn grabs her fiery red locks and yanks JJ back to her feet. Ravyn looks out at the sea of onlookers begging her not to hurt the challenger and just smiles. She sets JJ up for a power bomb. The champ picks up her friend and slams her through the table they had just been signing at. She laughs as the crowd gasps in astonishment before booing her madly. Ravyn holds the title belt high above her head, reveling in the reaction of the Access fans. One more look down at her opponent and she leaves the signing area.


	45. Chapter 45

**Guys, great news! I've finally convinced my friend StraightFire HugLife to post JJ's story! It's called "Life's Zig Zags" and I hope you give it a shot! That being said, I hope you enjoy this quick chapter in the meantime.**

After a few hours in Ravyn's apartment with one of the WWE stylists the girls are ready for the Hall of Fame ceremony. AJ and Dolph come downstairs from JJ's place dressed in their nice suits. Dolph's eyes light up and his jaw falls slack when he sees JJ in her gown fully made up. Her normally radiant beauty is absolutely stunning in the more formal attire. Ravyn saunters towards the boys in her bare feet. Long colorful curls bounce around her shoulders as she wraps her arms around AJ's neck. She leans over and gently pushes Dolph's jaw shut. Giggling a bit to herself, she turns her attention back to the southern gentleman in front of her. His crystal blue eyes make her stomach flip flop. She could swear that a tiny chunk of her cold heart warms up every time he smiles at her.

"I don't know why, even for a second, I thought you'd wear something traditional," he grins as he admires the sassy purple and black corset dress she decided on.

She kisses him with her dark grey and black ombré lips, "I'm the champ. I pretty much do what I want."

He snorts, "A truer statement has never been spoken."

The four of them put finishing touches on their looks for the evening and head out to their awaiting limos. Dolph and JJ drive off in their white limousine while Ravyn and AJ step into their own black one. They sip on complimentary beverages on the short drive over to the venue. They come up with a plan for one of them to exit the limo first and walk the red carpet alone, while the other stays inside allowing the vehicle to make a lap of the parking lot and return for a second drop off. The whole idea just an attempt to keep their relationship out of the public eye. As they pull up to the red carpet though AJ completely changes his mind.

"Fuck it," he curses under his breath. Her amused look must catch him off guard. "You're my girlfriend and I don't care if the whole world knows it."

He takes the initiative and steps out of the limo first. The crowd that has gathered cheers madly for the Intercontinental champion in his blue suit. He lets them quiet down a decibel before reaching his hand back into the open door of the vehicle. A hush falls over the fans as they wait to see who he's sharing the limo with. Ravyn's dark grey knee high Dr. Marten boots touch down on the crimson tapestry and the place explodes. Though the rumors had been flying, no one outside of the company was actually sure of their relationship status until that moment.

He takes her by the hand and they begin to stride down the iconic walkway together. The cameras flash and the fans buzz. They stop and pose for pictures in front of a few company photographers. He pulls her close to him, wrapping his arm around her waist lovingly. They spy Charly Caruso ahead interviewing superstars as they make their way into the venue.

"Well, if this isn't a power couple I don't know what it!" The cute brunette almost stammers as AJ and Ravyn arrive in front of her. "AJ Styles, you've got a big match just days away now at Wrestlemania. Are you prepared to defend your Intercontinental title against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin?"

"Of course I'm ready," AJ chuckles cockily. "I've been all over the world beating guys way more impressive than those two idiots... That's not even important.. Tonight I'm here with my girlfriend. Did you know that she's the Smackdown Live women's champion?"

Ravyn's cheeks flush red at AJ's comments. Charly smiles and turns to face the dark haired champion. "Ravyn you're defending your women's championship against your former best friend in a ladder match in just two days. How prepared are you for that extreme title defense?" Charly beams, thrilled to be the first to interview the couple.

"JJ is a tough competitor. And this isn't the first time we've met under extreme rules. This IS the first time a match has meant so much though," Ravyn flips her long colorful curls over her shoulder. "But I beat her then. And I'll beat her again on Sunday."

Charly thanks them again and they continue their way down the gauntlet of photographers and interviewers, stopping along the way to answer questions and pose for photos. Once they reach the end they're relieved to find their coworker's gathered in a large room with lots of high top tables and an open bar. They spot Gallows and Anderson drinking with the Rock and Roll Express on a couple of stools at the bar. They grab drinks and mingle with their friends and coworkers before the actual ceremony begins.

The whole evening is a blast. From partying with their friends to watching legends of their business give amazing induction speeches. They meet new friends and celebrate with the old ones. Ravyn and AJ are relieved to not be hassled much about their relationship. For once they just get to enjoy being a couple.

"So, what did you ever do with that flash drive?" AJ asks the next morning. His soft brown hair framing his face as he stares at her from the edge of the bed.

She watches him stretch, muscles rippling under his lightly tanned skin. "Hid it in a drawer," she admits flippantly. "I was kinda hoping it would all just go away."

"If you want it to go away you should probably delete everything on it," he smirks.

She steps over to her dresser and opens the top drawer. After a few seconds of rummaging around she pulls out the small silver object. Her feet take her out to the small living room where her laptop sits waiting on the coffee table. She flips the screen open and taps a button, awakening the machine from its slumber. AJ leans against the wall to the hallway just watching her wearing nothing but some gym shorts, his arms cross loosely over his naked torso.

She smiles, admiring his physique, "You can come sit with me. I've got nothing to hide from you."

"That's okay, you can handle it on your own. Besides, I think you're cute there all curled up on the couch and sometimes I just like to look at you," he grins. "I'm gonna make breakfast."

She can't help but feel a bit relieved at his insistence for her privacy. She pops the flash drive into her laptop and waits for it to load. She catches AJ stealing the occasional look at her from the kitchen, making her smile. When the prompt to view the files on the drive appears she hesitates. Not sure she's ready to see exactly what is on it. Swallowing the lump in her throat she clicks the button.

Hundreds of photos and almost as many videos pop up in the viewer. The ones that had been a part of the leaks stand out to her immediately. She right clicks and deletes files one by one. Memories come flooding back to her with every video as she meticulously checks each and every one. Videos containing bondage, drug use, sex with multiple partners and lots of partying appear in front of her one after another. Seeing all of her hookups with Corey... And some others makes her increasingly glad that AJ decided not to watch over her shoulder. As she clicks through a set of photos she recognizes the redhead from the leak that Corey and Corbin insisted was JJ. A shot of the woman's face confirms that it isn't. Ravyn decided to email herself the photo so she can show JJ later that night and put her mind at ease.

By the time she reaches the end of the videos starring herself she's almost glassy eyed and not even paying attention. The image of a blonde girl pops up in the mess of thumbnails. It soon registers that she's not the only one Corey had taken photos and videos with. She finds videos of him with other girls before and after they were together, then stumbles upon a bunch from when he was cheating on her. She chooses not to delete the most incriminating ones, so she has them just in case.

"Breakfast is ready," AJ calls out to her from the kitchen.

She hears two plates clink onto the table as she finishes up on the computer. A huge sigh escapes her. The weight lifted from her shoulders is immense and she instantly feels better about everything. She sets the laptop back down on the coffee table and joins her boyfriend in the kitchen. The smell of delicious bacon and home fries tingles her nose.

"How are you feelin?" His accent shows just the slightest twinge of concern.

Happy tears well up in her eyes, "You made me potatoes."

"I did," he chuckles. "They're your favorite right?"

She nods excitedly, "You're the best boyfriend in the whole entire world."

He blushes taking a seat across from her, "So, I'm hoping to hit the P.C. this morning to get a workout in before we have to be at Access. Are we going to Takeover or do you want to watch from home?"

They discuss some plans for the rest of their day before deciding to go watch NXT Takeover live. They quickly finish up their breakfast and get ready to head out to the Performance Center.


	46. Chapter 46

**Friendly reminder that the story "Life's Zig Zags" is a companion piece to this one, check it out!**

 **Thanks again for all of your reads and reviews!**

The backstage area buzzes as the production crew sets up for NXT Takeover: Orlando. Ravyn and AJ mingle backstage with a bunch of their friends and give encouragement to some of the young stars of NXT. They choose an empty table near the seamstresses to settle down and watch the controlled chaos of a show they're not a part of. Voices from catering pass through the curtain to their side with ease. It takes a few minutes for them to recognize a pair of voices having a very interesting conversation.

"I was going to put something out today, but my computer is acting up," Corey grumbles to someone.

"We could try my computer, it's been wonky since you let me borrow that drive the other day," Corbin suggests. "Maybe we can still get our Wrestlemania moment with that bitch after all."

AJ starts to get up to confront them but she puts a hand on his arm telling him to stay put. The fury in his eyes scares her. His fists ball up at his sides as they hear the two men's voices drift away from their location.

"If they so much as LOOK at you cross I'm going to rip their fucking heads off," he growls like a predatory beast.

"Babe," she starts.

"I'm serious. Those two have gotten away with too much for too long. What they just said there? That's a threat. They're threatening you. They're threatening to harm you," he seethes. "You're my girlfriend and I love you. If someone threatens you I'm going to react. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again." He looks at her seriously. "You can share my dressing room tomorrow. And besides my match I'm not going to let you out of my sight."

"I saved some of the stuff from that flash drive... Some of the videos had Corey using drugs on company property and a couple of them were with some others that may be potential blackmail," she explains.

"We won't stoop to that level," AJ tells her matter of factly. "If they try anything I'm going straight to Vince, and then the police."

His tone tells her that there's no arguing with him. She nods, just thankful that he cares enough about her to be this concerned. They make the rounds and greet the rest of the NXT stars as they prepare for their big event. Ravyn is thrilled when she sees JJ out of the corner of her eye. The redhead is at the backstage monitor watching the opening bout. Ravyn lets AJ know where she'll be and sneaks over to join her friend viewing the show.

"So, I went through that flash drive and found this..." Ravyn pulls her phone out and shows JJ the photo of the redhead from the leaked photo. "Does she look familiar to you?"

JJ takes the phone and gives it a thorough examination, "I certainly recognize that hair color. Her face looks familiar too, I just can't place it."

"I know I've seen her backstage once or twice back in NXT," Ravyn brainstorms. "Maybe she was dating someone."

A lightbulb seems to go off for JJ, "Oh! I'm such a fucking idiot! She hangs around Corbin! I completely forgot about her. I hadn't seen her around since Corbin left NXT."

"Shit! You're right!" Ravyn finally matches the face to a memory. "Well, at least now you can prove that picture isn't of you! I found a bunch of other pictures on there too. Of lots of other girls. I saved a handful, just in case."

"I'm honestly over the photo. The people who still think it's me can keep thinking whatever they want at this point," JJ shrugs.

Ravyn nods, "AJ and I heard them talking earlier. They were going to release more tonight, but my plan fried their computers."

JJ chuckles, "That plan was amazing. I wish I had seen it go down."

"I would have loved to see their faces," Ravyn laughs.

The two girls are joined by their boyfriends soon after. The four of them find a spot where they won't be in the way and watch the show together.

"Babe wake up," AJ whispers slyly the next morning, his girlfriends back to him. When Ravyn doesn't respond he snakes an arm around her her hip and slides his body close to hers. The hair from his chest tickles her back. "Babe, it's Wrestlemania day.."

She yawns and stretches a bit, leaning back against AJ's warm body. He kisses her neck gently. A soft moan escapes her as his nose trails up to her ear. He nibbles her earlobe making her squirm under his touch. Her body reacts without even being fully awake. Turned on by the reaction he's getting he continues kissing her neck and collarbone. His hand teases the elastic of her lacy black underwear. In one swift motion he's got them down around her ankles and his hand sets to exploring her body. Within minutes he's got her quivering underneath him. She tries desperately not to leave claw marks in his back, but she can't stop herself. Her sharp talons sink into his soft flesh as she begs him not to stop. To keep her from drawing blood he pins her hands above her head on the kingsize bed. His head dips down capturing her lips with his own. She sucks his lower lip into her mouth and bites down gently, driving him wild.

In the tangled mess of bodies and sheets she feels completely his. They collapse into a heap panting and sweaty just minutes later. AJ flops onto his back as he struggles to get his breathing back under control. She moves in close and rests her head on his chest. Her fingers toy with the dark hairs as she watches his chest rise and fall with every breath.

"That's a good way to start Mania day," she smirks.

He runs his fingers through her long hair, "I kinda wish we could just stay here all day."

She sighs, content to stay right there with him forever, "But we can't. We have nine thousand autographs to sign before the show tonight."

"Just lay with me a few more minutes," he requests.

She doesn't need to be asked twice. She sinks herself into him letting her head rise and fall with each breath he takes. He twists his fingers into her silky hair, enjoying every last moment they have to themselves before the big event.

"Ravyn, I've got you scheduled for a photo op in thirty with our VIPs," Mark Carrano dictates as the women's champ exits her first 2 hour autograph signing for the day.

"Sure thing," she confirms. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be there."

He nods to her and goes back to the strict schedule on his clipboard. She makes her way through the backstage area of the convention center. A quick bathroom break and she grabs a granola bar as she traverses the quiet halls back towards the convention floor.

"So should Corbin and I expect you to come find us before the show tonight?" Corey's voice grates on her eardrums like nails on a chalkboard. "Or should we wait until after the show when you drop the belt and your boyfriend dumps you?"

"Oh for fucks sake Corey, fuck off!" She spits.

He cuts in front of her, stopping all forward momentum she had had. "I'll make sure to release the really good shit during the show then," he dangles the flash drive in front of her. "The really good pictures with you all tied up, the videos with Seth and Jimmy. Make sure that redneck and everyone else see just how much of a slut you really are."

She rolls her eyes, a new found confidence shining through ever since the destruction of the actual flash drive. She crosses her arm and smiles, "A

a little bird told me that flash drive of yours is useless. Everything on it is gone, you and I both know it." She watches the wheels turning in his head as he tries to process exactly what she's saying. "I also know about the other girls. Before, after and during our relationship. I've seen all the pictures.. All the videos. If I wanted to I could release everything and show the world just how much of a womanizing scumbag you really are." He stumbles over a response but makes only nonsensical noises. "Get the fuck away from me. Get out of my fucking life and erase my name from your vocabulary," she demands. "And if you so much as TRY to hurt my relationship, my friends or my career Vince will be the first one seeing everything on that drive. I'm sure he will REALLY appreciate all the drugs and partying you organized on property he's renting."

Tyler appears over her shoulder as Corey starts to back away slowly. "Everything okay here?" The blonde asks with a smirk.

"Everything's fine," Corey lies. "Just wishing the champ good luck tonight."

Tyler raises an eyebrow in amusement as Corey turns and high tails it from their presence. "AJ sent me to find you. You good?" He asks Ravyn carefully.

"I think my the 'my ex is a piece of shit' chapter of my life is finally over," Ravyn almost laughs.

Tyler grins, "About time."

She playfully swats at him before he pulls her in for a hug. "Now all I have to do is endure a ninety minute photo op and one more hour long autograph signing before I wrestle my best friend in a ladder match at our first Wrestlemania."

"No pressure," Tyler snorts.


	47. Chapter 47

Just a few hours later Ravyn meets up with JJ at the top of the ramp. The girls look down the huge entrance way and out at the empty stadium. They stare in awe at the sheer size of the venue. Neither one can truly convey their feelings. Instead of trying to make words happen Ravyn reaches over and pinches her friends bicep.

"Ouch!" JJ squeals and looks at the dark haired champion. "What was that for!?"

Ravyn giggles, "Had to pinch you. Make sure it was real."

"You're supposed to ask me to pinch you, jerk!" JJ laughs.

"Same same," Ravyn shrugs mischievously. "Let's go work out some of these butterflies eh?"

The redhead nods, "That's a really good idea."

The girls make their way down the eighty yard long ramp to the twenty foot square wrestling ring at the center of the massive arena. They take their time stretching and rolling around in the ring. Once they've finally started to relax a bit they head backstage so the crew can finish preparations for the extra long pre show. Ravyn heads back to AJ's locker room to clean up and get ready for the big event. She steps through the doorway and lets out a huge sigh. The nerves have returned. AJ notices and chuckles from the corner of the room where he's fishing through his gear bag.

"It doesn't get any easier until you're out there," he assures her.

She smiles nervously, "I'm just ready to get going."

He crosses the room and hugs her tight, kissing her forehead. She peaks past his muscular arms and sees their title belts draped over the back of the small couch.

"Kinda bummed they won't be ours after tonight," she half smiles.

He turns to see what she's looking at. When his eyes fall on the shining championships the phrase makes more sense. He nuzzles her hair with his nose and smiles, "Well, card subject to change you know."

They pull apart briefly to stare at the gleaming gold plates on the sharp white leather straps. He takes his phone from his back pocket and snaps a picture of the belts together on the couch. She watches as he opens up Twitter and posts the photo with the caption 'We enter as champions. We leave as champions!' She can't even stop herself from retweeting it immediately.

"You do know we're going to get in trouble for that, right?" She says with a smirk.

He laughs and kisses her, "I don't even care."

The rest of the afternoon goes by in a blur. Before they know it the first match of the main card is beginning. AJ, Dolph, JJ and Corbin wait in gorilla for the men's Intercontinental title match. Corbin enters first followed by Dolph and JJ. Ravyn kisses AJ and wishes him good luck as he steps through the curtain to the huge stadium. She steps back to watch the monitor just outside of gorilla. AJ plays to the crowd as he makes his way down the long ramp. The three men attack each other the moment the bell rings. Ravyn watches nervously as Dolph and AJ both take entirely too many risky maneuvers.

She's startled by Tyler's arm appearing around her shoulders as she watches the match in a trance. He gives her a reassuring squeeze and watches alongside her. At one point in the match it looks like Corbin mouths off to AJ. Tyler can't help but giggle as they watch Dolph and AJ beat the hell out of him with a handful of stiff shots. JJ stays out of the way as best she can with the three men seemingly everywhere all at once.

Corbin tosses Dolph to the outside, AJ hits the show off with a phenomenal forearm on the outside. JJ rushes to Dolph's side while he sells the move on the floor. Like a flash of lightning AJ is back in the ring contending with Corbin. He pounces on the much larger tattooed man like a lion trying to take down a full sized wildebeest. Corbin staggers and drops to his knees as AJ continues to hammer him relentlessly. The big man gets back to his feet and receives a Pele kick from AJ, laying him out on the mat.

AJ looks out to the floor to make sure that Dolph is still down. He steps between the ropes and turns to face the center of the ring. Corbin doesn't even stir. AJ leaps to the top rope and springs into the air. Ravyn grabs for Tyler's hand as she watches AJ hit a picture perfect springboard 450 splash on Corbin. The ref slides into place and starts to count.

-One-

Time seems to stand still as Ravyn sees Dolph stir on the outside.

-Two-

JJ helps Dolph to his feet and tries desperately to get him fired up. He slides into the ring.

-Three-

A moment too late. The bell rings as Dolph's arms slam into AJ in a failed attempt to break up the pin. AJ's music hits solidifying his victory. Dolph sinks down to his knees dejectedly. He gives AJ a respectful nod and rolls out of the ring.

Ravyn turns and hugs Tyler excitedly, "He didn't even tell me he was winning!"

Tyler smirks, "I don't think I've ever seen you so excited."

"It's not every day that your boyfriend gets to keep his Intercontinental title at Wrestle-freakin-mania!" She beams.

They wait eagerly as Dolph and JJ come back through the curtain. Tyler and Ravyn check on Dolph to make sure he isn't hurt. He assures them that he's fine before heading off to get cleaned up. Tyler steps back as AJ makes his way through gorilla. Ravyn flings her arms around his neck kissing him excitedly. He wraps an arm around her waist pulling her close to him, the other holds the belt on his shoulder. Their happy moment is cut short by a cranky voice coming from the edge of the hallway.

"You two!" Mark Carrano's sharp tone pierces the relative silence. "A word?" He doesn't really ask, more like demands as he starts down the hall expecting them to follow.

They exchange a look and quickly trail behind the head of talent relations to his temporary office. The two of them sink into the pair of chairs across from the desk, feeling like they'd been called into the principal's office. Carrano stalks around the room clearly upset about something. He turns to face them from behind the desk, his hands gripping the headrest of the office chair.

"A little heads up would have been nice," Carrano grumbles. As AJ tries to apologize about the tweet from earlier he cuts him off. "Not just for the tweet today. About the Hall of Fame red carpet. About Austrailia. It's great that you two are in a relationship, but maybe letting your bosses know beforehand would have been a good idea. Because now we've got social media going absolutely apeshit over you two officially being together."

"I'm sorry Mark," AJ says in his sweetest southern accent. "That was all my idea. I got caught up in the moment."

"Are you trying to make this an on screen thing too?" Carrano asks sternly.

Ravyn jumps in, "I don't think we were planning on it. Both of our careers are doing just fine right now. I don't see any reason to change anything like that."

"Good answer," Carrano looks unamused.

"Trinity and Jon are married and they don't work together on TV," AJ reasons. "Sure fans know they're married, but it doesn't have to be shoved down their throats on TV?"

"Fine," Carrano gives in. "I'll tell Vince you cleared it with me. Ravyn you've got ninety minutes before we need you to be ready for your match."

The two champions leave the room trying not to let Carrano see them giggling. They head back to AJ's locker room after grabbing some bottles of water from catering. The moment the door clicks shut behind her Ravyn throws the lock. AJ smirks as he turns back to look at her. She pushes him backwards towards the couch where her title belt rests. Her fingers tease his sweaty bare chest. He rips her shirt off over her head and tosses it aside. She grabs his title belt from him and drapes it over the couch next to hers.

Her fingers find the waistband of his tights and tug them down around his thighs. He rips her underwear off from under her skirt and gives her a playful grin. She shoves him down onto the couch before dropping to her eyes in front of him. His fingers tangle in her thick hair as she makes him moan her name. He lets her go a bit longer before pulling her up to him. She gently sinks down onto his lap, gasping with pleasure. His hands caress her naked back as they move together as one. When she starts to get loud he crashes his lips into hers, muffling her cries. He nibbles on her lower lip gently as she runs her fingers through his chestnut hair. Together they're a messy fervor of groping limbs and passionate whimpers. His crystal eyes lock with her grey blues as they come to a climax together.

She kisses him softly, "I couldn't miss the opportunity for one more time as dual champions."

"As if we've ever needed an excuse," he nuzzles her neck. "Come on. You've got a ladder match to get dressed for."

"I do have some sweet new gear to show off," she grins, not yet ready to pry herself away from her boyfriend.


	48. Chapter 48

They sit snuggled together for a few more minutes before Ravyn stands up to get ready. She pulls her new gear out of her bag and starts getting dressed. Black shorts with silvery grey tornados on each side, a studded belt completes her trunks. The new top is a simple black halter top with silver stitching at the hems. Matching kick pads cover her black boots. She takes a look at herself in the full length mirror, adjusting the buckle of her belt. AJ slinks an arm around her waist as he sneaks up behind her. He steals a look at her in the mirror from over her shoulder.

"What do you think?" She asks as she catches his eye in their reflection.

He takes her question as an invitation to stare at her in the mirror. She smiles at his extended glance and watches his perfect lips respond, "You're beautiful. You're always beautiful," he grins impishly. "The gear is a nice touch."

She turns around and swats at him playfully. A quick kiss as she heads back to her bag to grab her leather jacket. Before her fingers can grasp the soft black leather AJ clears his throat. Slowly she looks back over her shoulder to see him holding a box wrapped with shiny silver paper. She stands up and takes the few steps over to him. He holds the package out to her with a huge grin.

"I thought you could use something special for your first Wrestlemania," his eyes sparkle.

Speechless she grips the glossy paper and stands on her toes to kiss him before tearing into the gift. A plain box lies under the paper making her wait just one extra moment to get inside. She sets it down onto a folding chair so she can lift the top off more easily. Inside she's greated by the smell of soft new leather. A black jacket folded neatly inside. Her fingers caress the buttery soft hide. Silver studs and spikes accent the shoulders and waist of the jacket. She lifts it carefully, admiring every stitch. Once it's out of the box she sees the back. A hand painted grey tornado with her 'Destroying Everything You Love' catchphrase splashed across the image in a bright white font with a thick black outline.

"It's... It's beautiful," she stammers, unable to look away from the garment.

"Well, are you gonna try it on?" He laughs. She smiles and lets him help her into the coat. "That looks even better on you than I expected," he admits.

She can't stop smiling as she admires herself in the mirror AJ wraps her title belt around her waist and fastens it in the back. One last look of admiration before he slaps her butt on the way out the door to hair and makeup. She sits patiently while the makeup mavens get her look perfect for the big event. Dark purple and black eye shadows with just a tiny shimmer of purple glitter. Her long colorful tresses loosely curled around her shoulders.

"Ten minutes Ravyn!" Road Dogg calls from the curtain to gorilla.

The girls finish her up and send her on her way to gorilla. She sees AJ waiting for her, knowing he had been keeping an eye on her the whole time. JJ and Dolph arrive just outside of gorilla. The girls look each other up and down fawning over each other's new gear. JJ's new tights are the perfect shade of electric pink, and so very very sparkly. Her name carefully stitched onto each leg and a matching top complete the look. Tyler and Zack join the group of friends waiting for the girls' match. The two women step into gorilla after kissing their boyfriends.

"Nervous?" Ravyn asks.

"Insanely nervous," JJ holds up a trembling hand. "My hands are shaking."

Ravyn holds up her own quaking arm and laughs, "Good, so it's not just me. Any idea what the finish is?"

"No idea. I'm having flashbacks to Survivor Series when I didn't find out until last minute if it was going to be me or Eva," JJ sighs.

"At least this time it's either me or you," Ravyn smiles as she hears JJ's music hit. "Guess I'll see you out there friend. Good luck!"

JJ gives Ravyn a quick hug, "Let's kill it out there!"

With that JJ bursts through the curtain to the top of the ramp. Ravyn watches her friend enter on the monitors set up in gorilla. Pyrotechnics explode from the top of the ramp as the baby face challenger gazes out upon the record setting crowd. She strides down the rainbow colored ramp confidently.

The bright rainbows that had lead JJ to the ring are chased away by grey. A clap of thunder followed by a tornado siren blare over the speakers. The image of a nice house with a white picket fence appears on the Titantron. From off to the side a massive tornado winds across the screen and demolishes the structure. The swirling storm migrates to the top of the ramp and the opening whispers of Ravyn's theme song ring out to the arena.

"Hey," she hears Road Dogg call to her as she's about to step out from the curtain. "Put the kid over!"

She smiles and nods. Ravyn lets the first few lyrics play before emerging from the back. The swirling vortex stays with the champion as she makes her way to the ring. She hops up on the apron and steps between the ropes and watches the grey circle engulf her opponents feet. Ravyn poses with her back to the camera and looks back over her shoulder to the hard cam with a sultry glare. She winks to the fans at home then looks up as she watches the Smackdown Live women's championship gets hoisted high above the ring.

The bell sounds and Ravyn immediately dives to the outside to go for a ladder. JJ follows her and cuts her off. They battle back and forth on the outside. The two best friends hit each other with everything they've got. The crowd is thoroughly behind the challenger as she seems to have the upper hand. JJ rolls into the ring, sets up a ladder in the center and begins to climb. She gets three quarters of the way up before Ravyn drop kicks the ladder sending her crashing back to the mat. Ravyn takes advantage of her downed opponent and resets the ladder. She doesn't get more than three rungs up before JJ slips underneath her, grabs her legs and hits her with a power bomb from the ladder.

They stay grounded for a few minutes before JJ knocks Ravyn to the outside. In a move of desperation Ravyn flings JJ into the steel steps. With the challenger laid out momentarily she fishes under the ring for a table. Instead she finds a steel chair that she tosses into the ring. She goes back under the apron to actually get a table. She sets it up in front of the announce table and stalks over to grab the redhead by a fistful of her hair.

She shoves JJ's head down between her thighs and sets her up for a power bomb. Ravyn lifts the other girl up but JJ starts fighting back with punches to Ravyn's head. Ravyn staggers backwards towards the ring with JJ up around her shoulders. JJ steps onto the apron and out of Ravyn's grasp, a kick to the chest scents the defending champion scrambling. Ravyn slides back into the ring and the girls scuffle again. Ravyn begins climbing the ladder while JJ is down, but the redhead just refuses to give up.

Ravyn drops from the ladder onto JJ giving her a tornado DDT. Not sure if the DDT will be enough Ravyn sets her friend up for a slingshot between the bottom and middle rope. She places a ladder on top of her for added emphasis. The crowd roars as Ravyn begins climbing the tallest ladder in the center of the ring. She reaches for the belt but fumbles with the strap. JJ's hand grabs her ankle and Ravyn looks down at her best friend.

"Push me over," Ravyn whispers harshly from under her mass of hair. "Through the table!"

JJ suddenly understands. She steps off the side of the ladder and pushes with everything she has, toppling the metal a-frame. Ravyn goes sailing through the air as the ladder bounces off of the top rope. She crashes through the table she had set up at ringside just minutes earlier.

Though the arena is buzzing the whole world seems to stop for Ravyn. From her spot on the floor amongst the rubble she watches her best friend climb to the top of the ladder and claim her very first championship. The bell rings behind her and she hears JJ's music play in the arena. Two referees help Ravyn to the back as JJ celebrates. Once she's backstage she thanks them for their assistance and hobbles her way to gorilla.

"You okay?" AJ asks as she limps over.

She smiles at his concern, "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

He kisses her forehead softly and pulls her in for a hug, "Sure you aren't hurt?" He double checks.

She nods, "I'm sure. Is J back yet?"

"Any moment now," he takes her hand and leads her into gorilla where Tyler, Dango, Vince, Hunter and Road Dogg are waiting.

The new champion comes back through the curtain with Dolph and Zack close behind her. Ravyn tackles her with a massive hug the moment she sees her. The two of them are the closest to happy tears as they've ever been. The rest of the crew congratulates her. Road Dogg pops a bottle of champagne splashing JJ with it. Ravyn watches her friend bask in the glory of being victorious. Satisfied with their performance Ravyn leads AJ out of gorilla to let JJ have her moment.

"Miss your belt already?" He jokes.

She smirks, "Well you know what they say. Life is like a game of Tetris. The mistakes pile up and the accomplishments disappear... I'll get it back eventually."

 **Thats the end for now. There's a possibility of an epilogue if anyone is interested. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long! Your reviews made writing it so much more fun.**

 **And a friendly reminder that "Life's Zig Zags" is a companion piece to this story from JJ's POV.**


	49. Epilogue

Almost an entire year later the girls scramble to get ready for the first ever women's Royal Rumble. The women's locker room clears out as the roster empties into the backstage area to prepare for the long match.

A hand reaches out to grab Ravyn's right hand on her walk to gorilla. She looks over to see that AJ has joined her. She gives his hand a squeeze, smiling when she feels the cool metal band touch her skin. He pulls her off to the side as the bottleneck of gorgeous athletes mingle just outside of gorilla. He leans up against the cement wall and wraps his fingers around her hips, pulling her to him. She reaches up and rests her arms on his shoulders, fingers combing through his long brown hair. His bright crystal blue eyes shimmer as he gazes at her.

"You ready to make history?" He asks with a grin.

"Always," she tells him. "Got my lucky number. I get to work with some of the best women in the world. And now I get to go fight with my best friend!"

He's enthralled by her enthusiasm, "Maybe after Wrestlemania we'll both be champions again."

"Remind me to congratulate you later for retaining that World Championship," she flirts. She kisses him softly and leans against his strong chest just enjoying the closeness. "Right now, I've gotta get ready to get out there."

"Good luck, Mrs. Jones," he kisses her with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm never going to get tired of saying that."

"Good, because I'm never going to get tired of hearing it," she nearly melts at the sound of her married name dripping off his tongue with that sweet southern drawl.

Her mind wanders to when they had decided to get married back in the fall. They had gotten lucky with a few days off in the middle of October and invited their closest friends to a small ceremony at their home. JJ had been Ravyn's maid of honor while AJ's best friend Christopher Daniels was his best man. The autumn weather was absolutely perfect for the simple backyard wedding. Ravyn wore a deep purple cocktail dress while AJ wore casual dark jeans and a stylish grey sport coat. The small group of friends celebrated with them late into the night. And just two days later they were all back on the road.

Ravyn squeezes through the crowd of waiting ladies and greets the other competitors before she starts stretching. She looks up to see Toni Storm smirking at her. The crazy blonde Kiwi stalks up to her before hugging the dark haired former champion.

"What's your draw?" Toni asks.

"Seventeen, you?" Ravyn responds.

Toni smiles impishly, "Sixteen, right before you."

"Want to run our Mirror Mirror spot?" Ravyn laughs referring to a sequence they had run on the indies hundreds of times where they mirror everything the other girl does. A play on them both having the last name Storm.

"Definitely," Toni grins, excited to be making her first WWE appearance since the Mae Young Classic the previous summer.

Ravyn nods and goes back to her stretching routine as the match begins in the arena. The next time she looks up she sees her best friend strolling towards her. She squeals and rushes to JJ, excited for the redheads big return from a knee injury six months ago.

"What number did you get?" Ravyn asks.

JJ smiles, "I got twenty six."

Ravyn grins like the Cheshire Cat, "They're going to lose their minds when you come out."

JJ smiles jokingly, "Hopefully they remember me. I've been off TV forever. Too bad I couldn't still be on like you did when you hurt your shoulder."

Ravyn starts to respond but she's cut off by Tyler and Dango making police siren noises as they approach the girls.

"Hold it right there!" Tyler demands peering over his mirrored sunglasses.

Dango struts around them cockily, "There are some serious fashion crimes going on over here!"

"Take these!" Tyler shoves two tickets at them, winks and strides away with Dango hot on his heels.

Ravyn is stunned, "Did... Did they just give us tickets? US!?"

"Am I having deja vu?" The redhead laughs. "Didn't they ticket us on out first night here?"

"Ugh you're right," Ravyn groans as she reads her ticket. "Crazy hair... Jerks. What does yours say?"

"Too much pink," JJ smirks and glances down at his outfit. "There's only a little bit of pink on this gear!"

Ravyn laughs, "We should drown them in the hot tub later." The girls listen as the Philadelphia crowd counts down and Toni heads out to the ring. "Well, I'm next! See you in fifteen minutes!"

"Go get em! I'll see you out there!" JJ calls as Dolph sneaks up behind her fresh off his victory in the men's rumble.

Ravyn enters the arena to a chorus of boos. The five women still remaining in the match let her slide in before they jump the former champion. She pairs off with Toni and they run a few of their favorite spots from the indies. Soon the blonde is eliminated by the returning Piper Niven.

Competitors enter every ninety seconds. Some are tossed out almost immediately while others hang on for long stretches of time. J enters at number twenty six and guns directly for her best friend. They scuffle and bump all over the ring, knocking into other women at every turn. In an odd turn of events they actually end up having to team up to eliminate the rest of the upset competitors.

They double clothesline Sasha over the top and stagger back to the middle of the ring with their backs to each other scanning for other opponents. They slowly come to the realization that they're the last two left. They turn around in slow motion to face each other. Ravyn leans to the side to check behind JJ for anyone else in the ring. JJ does the same. Both stand back up and come face to face.

Ravyn smirks at her best friend. "Looks like it's just us," the camera barely picks up her voice.

"Yup," JJ smiles. "And soon it's gonna be just me!"

JJ shoves her rainbow haired best friend starting an all out war. The two of them leave nothing out. Each girl tries to eliminate the other many times without success. Ravyn kicks JJ in the midsection and leaves her staggering to the ropes. She takes the opportunity to bounce herself off of the opposite set of ropes and launch herself at JJ. She tackles the redhead over the top rope following her up and over with her own body. JJ holds on for a split second as the girls tumble to the outside. The bell rings but neither girls' music plays. Two referees argue about the outcome as the girls begin to stir. As they rise up to their feet each one argues for their own victory.

The Philadelphia crowd goes nuclear as Daniel Bryan's music plays. They expect him to restart the match, but instead he declares both girls winners and announces a three way dance for Wrestlemania. Ravyn throws her arms up in the air angrily and JJ beams. The dark haired woman shoves her finger into JJ's chest. Her eyes travel to the Wrestlemania sign hanging high above them, her finger follows pointing at the blue and orange emblem.

"I'll see you at Wrestlemania!" Ravyn tries desperately to hide her legitimate excitement.

The end.

 **Thank you again for giving this story a chance! Hope you all enjoyed the ride!**

 **I'm considering doing a prequel to this story, the Ravyn/Corey NXT years, anyone interested?**

 **And of course don't forget that "Life's Zig Zags" is the companion piece to this story.**


	50. Shallow Graves

Hi guys! I've recently started working on the prequel to this story. It's called " **Shallow Graves** ". It'll take you from Ravyn's early days of training through her time in NXT. Give it a follow and a review if you enjoy it!


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